Usagi no Naruto
by pain17ification
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki was always underestimated and looked down on as weak by many people. The Usagi Clan have also endured such looks. Both want to show those who underestimated them that they were wrong. With Judy Hopps by his side, see Naruto truly kick off his career as a ninja with a bang! He is the Maelstrom Rabbit! First TRUE Disney movie crossover for me! Naruto/Judy pairing!
1. Chapter 1: A Change of Pace

**Salutations, my fellow readers and authors! I'd like to welcome you all to my crossover story between** _ **Naruto**_ **and** _ **Zootopia**_ **!**

 **Some characters may be OOC, but such is the nature of FanFiction. It is a writer's right and privilege to alter things from the source material to fit their creative needs.**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **Naruto**_ **is owned by Kishimoto-sama while** _ **Zootopia**_ **is owned by Disney**

* * *

 _Usagi no Naruto_

 _Chapter One: A Change of Pace_

* * *

 _'I can't believe I'm going up against the guy that thrashed Lee,'_ thought a blonde teen dressed in orange. He was seated in the waiting area of the hospital with his gaze unfocused. _'What am I gonna do? I can't beat a guy THAT strong without some intense training…'_

It was at this moment that he heard an adult male clearing their throat. "Ahem, Naruto," the man called, making the teen look up and have his blue eyes meet the single visible orb of his teacher, Kakashi.

"Sensei," he greeted, getting to his feet. "I'm glad you're here. I really need your help."

"I'm going to have to stop you there, Naruto," interrupted the man, raising up a palm in a halting motion. "I can't train you for the month since I'll be taking over Sasuke's training."

"But his opponent is that puppet user! All the bastard needs is his fire jutsu and he can turn that puppet into firewood!" argued the Uzumaki. "Please, sensei! I can't face that Gaara guy without some extra training, and you're my teacher!"

The silver haired man sighed at his student. A part of him dreaded having to say this – especially to the son of his late teacher – but it had to be said. "Naruto… It might be best for you to withdraw from the finals."

Blue eyes widened in pure shock, and an intense amount of emotional hurt was projected from their gaze. "W-What are you…? How could…?" He couldn't even form a question, such was the depth of his shock.

"Let's be honest here; you don't have a shot against Gaara. He was able to cripple Lee – who, by the way, had significantly more experience than you – and survive the Hidden Lotus that he used. All you have going for you are clones, and you only beat Kiba because your body decided to pass gas at just the right moment." He shook his head with his eye closed, just so that he wouldn't have to keep seeing the look of betrayal in Naruto's eyes. "You passed the Preliminaries on a fluke. Be thankful that you made it _this_ far; but I don't think you'll be able to go further in these exams."

"But I can beat Gaara if I had someone to help me train!" fired back Naruto, his outburst unknowingly gathering the attention of passerby people. "How could you just tell me to quit without giving me the chance to get better and try? How could you just focus on Sasuke when his opponent will be easy for him to beat?" His eyes narrowed, the blues in them piercing the Jonin and almost making him shudder. "How could you be lower than trash?" he finished in a low tone, and the accusation made many of the eavesdroppers let out murmurs of shock.

Kakashi however didn't care for the question and gave his blonde student a stern look. "Naruto, I am your team's leader and you will trust in both my judgment and in my guidance. And I'm telling you that you should withdraw."

That was the final spark that lit the Genin's fuse. "Screw you, Kakashi!" he raged, eyes flickering between blue and crimson. "If you won't help me try and prove myself than I'll find someone who actually believes in me! It's not like you taught me anything other than the stupid Tree Walking exercise!"

"Now listen here-"

"No, YOU listen, Kakashi!" roared the blonde, surging his chakra and creating an immense pressure from its density. "All my life I've had people spit on my dreams and tell me to just give up! You were supposed to be different than them! You were supposed to actually give a damn about me because I was your student; because I was a LEAF NINJA!" He let his raging chakra die down, but there was still a storm churning behind his glaring gaze. "I can't believe I actually thought you'd be different than them… My mistake," he finished before turning around and walking off.

The frozen crowd quickly parted from his path so as not to accidently spark his anger again. However, a few of the people actually turned to Kakashi with looks of disappointment. Sure, many of them weren't exactly fond of the young blonde because of what he carried, but they couldn't deny that he had a valid point; he was a ninja of their home, training to keep _them_ safe. If no one gave the boy the tools needed to do his duty, then what would he have to resort to? The power of the beast responsible for one of the darkest days in their village's history?

It was a frightening thought, for sure.

One person, however, took particular interest in the argument between Jonin and Genin. A slender brow on her face was raised while her lips tugged upward in amusement at how her brother was beaten. So, she decided to go have a chat with the whisker-faced, blue-eyed blonde.

* * *

Her ears twitched when she heard distant footsteps getting closer to the apartment's door. A sigh escaped her when she heard that said footsteps were more akin to stomps; showing frustration and anger. _'What happened this time?'_ she thought as she jumped down from the foot stool she was using to cook at the stove.

The door to the apartment slammed open, and Naruto stepped in with a deep frown before closing the door just as hard. "Stupid sensei playing favorites…" he growled out as he kicked off his sandals at the doorway.

She sighed again, but this time it was because of what she had expected would happen eventually. When the teen had received his teacher, she had done some digging on the man and Naruto's teammates. With just those initial reports on each member, she made an assumption on how the team's dynamic would play out; and she was sadly correct in that assumption.

Stepping over to him as he sat on his futon mattress, she patted his arm reassuringly. "I'm sorry, Naruto," she said sincerely. "I had a hunch that this would happen…but I was hoping I would be wrong."

He shook his head as the anger in his eyes gave way to betrayal and hurt. "Don't apologize for him… He doesn't deserve it; especially from you."

"So, what will you do now?"

He was silent. He honestly had no clue what he should do. "I don't know…"

Her long ears fell behind her head, showing that his depressive aura was affecting her as well. "You can't just sit here and mope, Naruto. Why won't you let me help you? I…" Her tone lowered to a whisper. "I'm supposed to be your partner…"

He flinched at her question and regarded her as she had her gaze averted. Standing beside his seated form was a gray rabbit that stood like a human would on her hind legs. In fact, her legs didn't have that angled look that natural rabbits had, giving her stance a more humanlike posture. She had a lithe build with a lighter shade of gray fur on her paws and muzzle; more than likely stretching to her underbelly as well.

Her other physical features were a pair of large violet eyes, a pink nose, long ears with black tips, and a teardrop-like tail with gray fur on the top and a lighter shade on the bottom. As for clothes, she wore a uniform that was incredibly similar to Jonin attire in the village; a black bodysuit with a flak jacket in the same shade of violet as her eyes. On the back of her jacket was a paw print of the Rabbit Clan while his red swirl symbol rested on the shoulders of her bodysuit.

She was Judith "Judy" Hopps, a rabbit that was next in line for leading her clan once she was given the position by the current Chief; her grandmother, Rukia (1). Before the Uzumaki became a Genin – or even took the Sacred Scroll – he had come across the Summoning Contract of the Rabbits that was misplaced in the archives of the village library. He had been desperate to try and get down the Clone Jutsu to pass the Academy that he resorted to going to the one place he disliked almost as much as the people who treated him poorly.

It was by pure chance that he stumbled – quite literally – into the scroll before he was kicked out of the library for making an unneeded ruckus. Lady Luck smiled down on him that day because he didn't have the scroll confiscated from him as he was kicked out. Once he had read and signed the scroll, he gave the jutsu a try and summoned Judy inside of his apartment.

Their first impressions of one another were strikingly similar, and it was that they saw the other as a mirror of themselves. Both were underestimated and looked down on – him for being a Jinchūriki and she for being an animal that fell short on the food chain – but both also desired, more than anything, the opportunity to show that they were meant for something more; that they had what it took to be recognized and respected.

After their first meeting, Judy took him to see her grandmother. The elderly rabbit decided to give them both a chance and assigned Judy to be Naruto's partner. If their partnership proved to be successful, than Judy would be accepted as the next Chief and Naruto would be recognized as a member of their Clan; the Usagi.

However, Naruto refused to take Judy with him on assignments, claiming to be worried about her safety. A part of him knew he was doing the very thing that both of them loathed, but he couldn't help his concern for the safety of his first friend. It both touched and infuriated Judy at the same time; but she didn't act on her frustrations and instead offered Naruto some tips and guidance in training. It wasn't much, but it helped him smooth out his rough edges.

However, now he was feeling all of the guilt of keeping her "safe" rise up to the brim. He couldn't take it anymore, so he reached out and placed his hand on her head. As she turned to meet his gaze, he gave a sad smile to show how sorry he was. No words were needed between them, and she slowly smiled back before giving a single nod to both accept his apology and to show that she was with him all the way.

"We better get going," he suggested as he stood up from his bed.

Due to being a member of a more evolved animal species, Judy's head was able to reach Naruto's chest while her ears were able to brush against the tip of his nose. In short, she wasn't the average rabbit and she intended to make that point clear to anyone who doubted her.

She was the partner of Naruto Uzumaki, and the two of them would reach grand heights together.

* * *

"Okay," began Naruto as he jumped across the rooftops of the village with Judy sitting on his right shoulder, "if Kakashi won't teach me how to face Gaara, then I need to find another Jonin who could help me give it a decent attempt."

"That's true. You could still show the judges what you know and then back down after giving it a real effort. After all, a ninja needs to know when to make a tactical retreat," advised Judy. "What about the Jonin who taught Lee? From what you told me about him, he was able to help Lee become a good fighter even with his handicaps."

"You mean Guy-sensei? Well, he _is_ the rival of Kakashi… And you're right about his efforts with Lee… Yeah, I think I should ask Guy-sensei for some help!" he agreed with a grin, changing his course from aimless to designated as he headed for the hospital once more.

After all, it made sense for Guy to be at Lee's side while the Genin was recovering from his match.

* * *

"So, he made a stop at his place for a bit before heading out with someone who seriously smells like rabbit," mused Hana as she stood outside of Naruto's apartment complex. With her were her three ninken known as the Haimaru Triplets. All three dogs were sniffing around for a trail before one of them barked, making Hana smirk. "Good boy. Let's get moving!"

* * *

Finding Lee's room was easy for Naruto; it was sneaking in Judy that proved a bit difficult. She was rather noticeable for a rabbit, and would most likely have been denied being allowed in due to being an animal. So, much to her embarrassment, Naruto had her tucked inside of his rather large orange jacket as he made his way to Lee's room with a casual demeanor.

Once he stepped inside his fellow Genin's room, his eyes dimmed at the sight. Lee was still unconscious from the fight and was hooked up to a breather with casts on his arm and leg and IVs in his free arm to administer needed fluids. Seated beside his bed was the Jonin Naruto had been hoping to speak to; Might Guy.

Said Jonin turned to see who entered his protégé's room, only to look slightly surprised at the visitor. "Naruto? Not that I don't appreciate you coming to see Lee, but what are you doing here?"

Before he answered, Naruto let Judy out of his jacket, and she smoothed out her clothes and fur with an annoyed grumble. "Well, I wanted to see how he was doing for starters. What did they say, sensei?"

Guy looked devastated at the question and returned his gaze to Lee, eyes already looking ready to shed tears. "They said his chances of regaining his physical condition were extremely low. Lee had his arm and leg crushed by the immense pressure of Gaara's sand. Only a medical ninja with the same skill and caliber as Lady Tsunade would have a chance of helping him recover fully."

The realization hit both Naruto and Judy hard. "So…his career is over then if Tsunade doesn't return…isn't it?" asked the rabbit.

"Yes… I should've stepped in sooner…"

"Guy-sensei, you can't blame yourself for this," cut off Naruto, stopping the man from falling deeper into self-loathing. "You and he didn't know the full extent of Gaara's power over his sand. _You can't change what happened in the past, and it will only make you hurt more to dwell on the hardships it brought…_ That's something Old Man Hokage told me a long time ago."

The man gave a slightly bitter chuckle at that. "Lord Hokage is indeed wise, but it still doesn't help me _not_ dwell on what happened."

"…Sensei, the other reason I came here has to do with Gaara."

That made the man give pause and turn his attention back to the blonde. "What do you mean?"

"What he means, sir," began Judy, earning his attention, "is that Gaara is his opponent in the finals. Now, while he would've been happy to have Kakashi train him…"

"He said I should quit after getting this far," cut in Naruto with a frown, making Guy blink in surprise. "He practically said that he has no faith in my chances and that I passed on a fluke; and that last part is partially true, as much as I hate to admit it."

"My eternal rival really told you to just give up? But how could he just spurn your chances like that?" Guy asked, truly shocked at his fellow Jonin's actions to his Genin.

"If I may offer my opinion?" Judy asked, earning a nod from the green-clad man. "I think that Kakashi wanted to place his efforts on the student that had the most skills out of his team. While it's true that Sasuke has more jutsu and techniques, it's mainly because of the clan he came from and the training he most likely had before and during the Academy. Meanwhile, Naruto here had to struggle to get to where he is now, and Kakashi probably didn't want to spend long periods of time working with Naruto when he had a _prodigy_ to work with."

Guy frowned at this, not liking the probability of the rabbit's opinion being true. "So, you decided to see if I could help you at least have a better shot at surviving against Gaara? Is that it?"

"Yes," truthfully answered the blonde. "It might seem selfish on my part, but I just want the chance to show that I have what it takes to become a Chunin; and if I have to give up, I will. But, I won't do it without giving it a real effort."

Guy nodded at that. "Yes, I can see why you would feel that way." He turned to Lee once more, frowning in thought at the request Naruto was asking. "However, you saw what happened to Lee with my training alone… What makes you believe you'll have a fighting chance?"

"Because like Lee, I believe in the benefits of hard work; of pushing yourself so that you could show a so-called _prodigy_ that you can match them. I've always been a failure; just like Lee…" Guy turned around and saw Naruto's eyes burning with determination. "Let me have the chance to show everyone that we were, and still are, _proud failures_."

Judy stood at Naruto's side, giving a nod to show her agreement to Naruto's words. With both of them giving such determined gazes to him, the Green Beast of the Leaf couldn't help but give a smile. Like his protégé, Naruto truly was a hard worker and believed in earning your skills instead of being born with them.

 _'Yes… Like Lee, Naruto will show everyone that he's a genius of hard work,'_ he mused. His smile grew into a wide grin and he gave the two a thumbs-up. "Yosh! Then I will accept your request, Naruto! I'll help you turn your Flames of Youth into such an inferno that all will be left ablaze by their magnificence!"

The two sweatdropped at his declaration. _'I know we should be grateful that he's agreed to help me/him, but does he HAVE to talk like that?'_ both of them thought.

* * *

Standing across from the window to Lee's room was Hana and her three ninken. Thanks to her heightened senses, she was able to hear everything that had been said in that room. While she was slightly concerned about Guy's influences potentially rubbing off on Naruto, she couldn't deny that the man could help out the Uzumaki greatly.

What really interested her though was the fact that the smell of rabbit from his apartment came from an _actual_ rabbit; and a Summon at that. Thinking of the bond the two shared reminded the young woman about the bond her mother once held with a wolf summon. If the bond were to be nurtured further – with the right guidance, of course – than the Uzumaki would definitely be a force to be reckoned with.

"C'mon boys," she said as she turned away from the hospital. "I need to go speak to mother about this. Maybe she'd be willing to help the kid out." One of the triplets gave a questioning bark, making her raise a brow. "I'm not completely invested in him just yet, Honō. He's just caught my interest."

Honō gave her a look along with his brothers, making her give an annoyed one in response.

"Just let me talk to mom about this and don't give me any beef. Alright Honō?" The ninken nodded and she turned to the other two. "Same goes to you, Aburu and Yakeru (2). I know it's strange to be helping someone associated with our natural prey, but I have a gut feeling about that kid."

The ninken all barked in compliance before they followed their human partner back to the Inuzuka compound. It was indeed strange to them to be helping out a rabbit, but they trusted Hana.

* * *

"I'm impressed that you're already wearing weights like Lee," praised Guy the following morning as he stood before Naruto and Judy in a training field. "While not as heavy as Lee's, they still offer you considerable resistance to help in upping your natural speed."

"It was Judy's idea, actually. Rabbits have most of their core strength in their legs, so I needed to focus on that area if I'm going to work with them," explained Naruto.

"Understandable. Now, I can tell just by watching you stand that the weight isn't really bothering you as much as it no doubt did when you first put them on. So, we'll be increasing the weight before starting your conditioning."

Judy took this moment to ask, "What about his taijutsu? I know that there are kicking maneuvers in your Heavy Fist style, but Naruto needs to focus primarily on kicking. He's not at a level yet to start learning Rabbit Style taijutsu."

"I believe I may have a solution for that. Young Naruto was quite the prankster before he became a Genin of our village, and he gave plenty of our ninja a good chase during his escapes. With how well he knew the streets of the village, I'd say that shows a high level of reactive thinking."

Let it be known that while Guy was usually an exuberant man who gave off the impression of being somewhat dim, he was definitely no slouch in understanding and developing physical regiments. With his observations of Naruto in his youth, the man was able to quickly figure out that Naruto was an on-the-fly sort of planner. He took in a situation mentally and his brain responded to it by coming up with the best sort of reactive actions and plans. He was the opposite of a Nara in terms of planning, but he was by no means less effective with his way of thinking.

"Naruto, when you move with your new weights, I want you to come up with new ways to go through your laps with every circuit. I want to see how fast you can come up with a different approach to something while also building you up physically."

The blonde nodded as he put on the new weights Guy had offered to him. Taking his stance, he went through the first lap in the traditional manner of running. As he approached the start of the second lap, he moved into the trees and began to use the branches to swing and move about. On the third lap, he did basic tree hopping. On the fourth, he switched it up and began to kick off of the trunks of the trees; which actually made the lap go by quicker.

Guy and Judy watched the entire time and while Judy was impressed with her partner's quick planning, Guy had a grin on his face that would make one believe the man had scored a big win; and they wouldn't be entirely wrong. Guy saw potential in Naruto before, but with his adaptive mind, he saw that potential increase greatly. A part of him wished that he had chosen Naruto for his team a year before when the boy failed for the second year in a row, but the other part was pleased things came out the way they had.

 _'Oh Kakashi, my narrow-minded rival, you certainly missed a diamond in the rough with this boy,'_ he mused with his grin still in place. "Alright, let's move onto the next exercise!"

* * *

Tsume Inuzuka, leader and spokeswoman of the clan, was sitting in her living room with a sake dish on the small table before her. Her brows were furrowed in thought while her eldest child and only daughter sat across from her. Next to her was her ninken Kuromaru who had been gifted to her by her late father when she became a Genin.

"I know this sounds strange mother," began Hana before the woman interrupted her.

"Not just strange; it's practically unheard of. We're connected to dogs and wolves and we _hunt_ rabbits; not _help_ them. I'd have less issues believing your findings if you said it was because of his _condition_ ," Tsume said while hinting at the Kyuubi. Her daughter was old enough and observant enough to figure out the mystery surrounding Naruto early on; something that made the woman proud.

"I know, but I can't help but see the potential he has going for him; even if he has our prey helping him. You know he beat Kiba in their Preliminary Match."

"More like humiliated him," commented Kuromaru with an amused snort that was matched by Tsume. "But still, you do have a point about the pup. Considering who he smells like, I'm not surprised that he has the potential you've seen."

Tsume nodded absently while Hana looked confused but said nothing. "True… Well, if you're asking for my blessing to give the pup some pointers then just know you don't need it. You're a grown woman, Hana, and you're free to make your own choices in life."

"You and Kuromaru are the only people that say that, mother. We both know that the others in our clan are still disgusted by me," cut in the young woman, and Tsume nearly growled at the reason for her comment.

Years back, before Hana's birth, Tsume had a contract between herself and a single member of the Wolf Clan; the Ōkami. As she grew with her partner and Kuromaru, she and the Ōkami became close and eventually gave into their baser desires. They had mated once and that led to her pregnancy with Hana. However, her fellow clansmen saw this as an affront on life and denied Hana as both an heiress _and_ as a member of the clan. It was only thanks to Tsume literally beating the crap out of anyone who spoke of banishing Hana that the woman was allowed to keep the clan name.

However, in return the Ōkami had been chased off and eventually killed while Kiba (who was born from a designated member of the clan) was named heir. Members of the Inuzuka – even Kiba on occasion – spoke badly of Hana for being a halfbreed and she didn't react to them out of anxiety for what could happen. Even Tsume rarely reacted to such actions; though she did make sure to discipline her son about them, as was her right as his mother.

Hearing about her son being beaten because his senses were thrown off by a _fart_ of all things was a real kicker to her and she and Hana had some fun throwing that in the boy's face. It didn't hurt that it helped Kiba, who had started to become pretty cocky and arrogant, learn some semblance of humility.

"Ignore them, Hana. What you choose to do and who you choose to help is your business. No one has any right to stop you; certainly not me. Besides, I think that you'd be a good mentor for the pup. Just try to keep the triplets from eating his companion."

Hana nodded with a smile. "I will. Thank you for your approval, mother."

* * *

Naruto was panting hard as he ran up and down the stone steps that lead to and from the top of the Hokage Monument. His leg weights had been increased once again and a heavy pack in the stylization of a tortoise shell was on his back. It made sense due to Guy being able to summon a large turtle (which Naruto had met when it stopped Lee from using the Lotus on Sasuke).

Racing past him, for the umpteenth time, was Judy who was breezing through the exercise; even with the personalized turtle shell pack. "C'mon, Foxy!" she teased as she passed him. On her return trip, passing him yet again, she continued, "Pick up the pace!"

"Damn rabbits and their leg strength," he grumbled as he pumped some chakra into his legs to help ease the growing soreness and help him finish the exercise strong. When he reached the top of the monument for the twentieth time, he was almost gasping for breath and steadied himself with his hands on his knees. "All…done…"

Guy nodded at that. "Yes, I'd say you did well with this exercise," he began in a calm tone of voice before his eccentric nature took hold. "But, by the end of the month, I want to see you go through it with the same amount of YOUTH as Miss Hopps!"

Naruto's head slumped as a small dark cloud of depression hung over him. "Yes, sensei…" he sighed out, showing how he was dreading what crazy exercise would be thrown at him next.

"For now, go home and rest. We'll go at it again tomorrow," stated the Jonin before dashing off in a blur of motion.

"I think I might be dead on my feet by the time this month's over," groaned out the Uzumaki as he took off the shell and sealed it away. He had been told to keep the leg weights on constantly while taking them off to get used to the speed boost every few hours. He still had around one more hour before he could stretch his legs again.

Judy also took off her shell and Naruto sealed it for her. "You're just saying that because no one pushed you this hard before. It's good to see your limits and try to break past them. It gives you something to strive for."

He sighed, but nodded in understanding. It was true that his limits had been raised throughout the past four days under Guy's physical training. He was faster, his legs were stronger, and his already high stamina was being pushed further. However, there was _one_ thing that he felt was playing a factor in his training.

"Judy," he said suddenly as the duo made their way down the steps at a sedate pace.

"What is it?"

"…I think I should try and talk to the fox."

She stopped on her current step, eyes wide and nose twitching in anxiety. It was understandable since foxes were natural hunters of her species; be they natural or evolved rabbits. "Are… Are you sure that's necessary?"

He gave her an apologetic look at the nervous question. "I know how you feel about this, but I can't help but think that the fox is unknowingly helping me get stronger. How else would you explain Guy increasing my weights three times in these past four days?"

"Maybe he's just pushing you further?" she tried to reason, but it sounded slightly desperate.

"That would be a good reason if he didn't already warn me about overstressing my muscles with too much weight. If you want, I'll try and talk to it in another room-"

"No!" she cut off, jumping in front of him with a fierce look. "I won't let you try and handle this yourself! I'm you're partner, so I'm with you." She poked his gut and finished, " _To the edge and back_ , remember?"

He smiled gratefully and nodded. " _To the edge and back_ … Let's get back home so that I could try and talk to Old Fuzzy. Thank the kami that the Old Man took care of that seal Snake Face put over mine. I don't want to know what would've happened if I tried to talk to the fox with it still on me."

"Probably best not to dwell on that," advised the rabbit with a slight wince as she once again matched her pace with her partner's. "You may descend from a nation of seal masters, but never forget that fuinjutsu is the most difficult art to study under; let alone comprehend."

"I know," he assured her. He had finally confronted the Hokage about his surname and how his swirling symbol was seen on standard Leaf uniform. What followed was the admission that Naruto did in fact come from a clan; though they and their island nation had been wiped out during the previous war.

He was also allowed to have a scroll that held some detailed information on the Uzumaki. It wasn't much, but he at least knew now that his clan were sealing experts, they had a higher degree of chakra capacity and potency, and that one of his parents had to have been an Uzumaki (though he obviously inherited the hair of the non-Uzumaki parent).

"Hey…I think I have an idea for my match," he said after a moment of thought.

"And that idea is…?" pressed Judy.

He held a thoughtful look on his face before shaking his head. "I need to talk to the Old Man about it first before it think about it any further. Until then, let's have a chat with Old Fuzzy…"

* * *

Hana frowned as she watched Naruto and his rabbit companion from a rooftop across one of the village's many streets. Her vantage point gave her a linear sight of the Genin's window, and so far he had done nothing but sight with his arms crossed while glaring at his stomach.

"He couldn't possibly be trying to talk to that creature…could he?" she asked herself in a low tone. Her ninken all gave unsure whines at the question and she shook her head. "I was just thinking out loud, boys. I wasn't expecting you to know."

After reassuring her partners, the halfbreed Inuzuka returned her focus on the blonde Uzumaki. She blinked in surprise when she saw his body, as well as the body of the rabbit girl, outlined in red that pulsed every few seconds. Rolling her eyes, she huffed and rested her head in her palm.

"Of course something happens when I turn away…" she grumbled, waiting for the duo to wake up from their obvious trance.

* * *

"…You have rabbit ears."

Judy had to stifle a laugh while the Kyuubi sweatdropped. _**"Really? The first thing you EVER say to me is THAT? What are you, an idiot?"**_

He shrugged. "Maybe. I've been called that a few times, so I have to be an idiot to one person or two at least."

"He's got a point. After all, he's MY idiot too," agreed Judy, nudging Naruto's side playfully.

The fox rolled its eyes and rested its chin on its forelimbs. _**"So…you have something that you wanted to speak to me about."**_

"I just wanted to know if your chakra was helping my muscle growth. I've been using leg weights, and-"

 _ **"** **Yes, I know that, already. Through your eyes, I have a view of the outside. It's better than just watching these bars for however long I'm stuck inside you."**_

Naruto nodded, showing he understood the fox's plight.

 _ **"** **As for your question, my chakra is aiding you slightly; I won't try to deny that. However, you're actually wrong about it being able to heal you."**_

Naruto rose a brow at that while Judy threw out a guess. "His Uzumaki genes, huh?"

 _ **"** **Correct, bunny."**_

"Rabbit," corrected Judy with her nose twitching in annoyance.

 _ **"** **Same difference, and you assume I care about your personal feelings on this. I honestly could care less,"**_ shot down the Bijuu in a blasé manner. _**"Anyway, my chakra is only advancing your own chakra's natural ability to heal you. It's true that Jinchūriki have some form of regenerative power from us Bijuu, but the Uzumaki had superior self-healing; even if they were a halfbreed like yourself, boy."**_

"So, my muscles get stressed from the training, but they naturally recover quickly because of my potent chakra. Did I get the gist of it?" Both the Bijuu and his partner nodded. "Alright, thanks for explaining that to me, I guess. I've got another question though."

 _ **"** **What?"**_

"How come you seem so…apathetic about me talking to you? I'm surprised you're not roaring at me and blaming me for keeping you locked up."

 _ **"** **Compare your lifespan to mine; even if yours is slightly above average due to your blood. Do you think I would really be concerned about waiting for your life to run out? An opportunity to free myself will present itself to me in time; so, I just have to be patient and observant before taking advantage of that eventual opportunity."**_

"…What if you made a deal with Naruto?" suggested Judy.

 _ **"** **And why would I do that? I don't care about what he's planning to do or what happens to him unless it involves me personally."**_

"But what if the deal made helped you get free sooner?"

"Judy?!" Naruto cried out in shock. "If the seal is removed, I'll die!"

She turned to him with a slight frown. "You're saying you can't figure out a way to stay alive afterwards?"

"Of course I can't! I haven't studied seals any farther than storage seals and a simple explosive tag! Do you realize how long it'd take for me to figure out a way to deal with a seal that the Fourth Hokage made?"

"I know it'll take a while…but nothing worth striving for is meant to happen in an instant; you have to work hard for it." She gave him a supportive smile as she finished, "And there are few who work as hard as or harder than you, Naruto."

 _ **"** **I suppose in exchange for this hypothetical seal that the boy has yet to even BEGIN planning for, you would like for me to offer him some of my chakra?"**_ assumed the Bijuu.

"Only in emergency situations," assured Judy. "Naruto isn't the type to abuse something, and he sure as hell won't abuse your chakra. I've read up on you, and I can tell your chakra has been abused enough already by Madara Uchiha."

 _ **"** **Bastard deserves worse than whatever killed him if you ask me, but I can see the value in your words, bunny."**_ Crimson eyes locked on to surprised blue ones. _**"Boy, I'll give you some of my chakra, but only if the situation is desperate enough by MY point of view. Am I clear?"**_

He had to mentally reboot his brain before nodding firmly. "Crystal clear, fox. I give you my word on this."

The fox grunted before offering its humanlike fist to the Uzumaki. _**"Then we have a deal, boy."**_

"I'm not just some _boy_ , fox," shot back the Genin before he pounded his fist against the larger one before him. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and don't you forget it."

Unknown to Naruto, the Bijuu used their connected fists to take a deeper look into the mind and being that was the young teen before it. It happened in an instant, but the fox had seen everything it needed to see. _**'Perhaps there was some truth to the Old Man's words… Maybe…'**_ Outwardly, its muzzle curled into a smirk followed by a short chuckle. _**"I'll see if I could remember a pipsqueak like you,**_ **boy** _ **. But since we're going to be working together in a sense, I suppose it wouldn't be fair not to return your gesture."**_

"Wait… You mean you're gonna tell me your name?" Judy was just as surprised, but she said nothing.

Rolling its eyes, the beast replied, _**"Don't be so shocked. Like you and the bunny there, I too was given a name by the one who made me. And that name was Kurama."**_

"Kurama…" Naruto said, testing the name before grinning. "Alright then! Looking forward to working with you, Kurama!"

"Thank you for giving us a chance," added Judy before both of them left the seal.

Resting its head down once more, Kurama closed its eyes and hummed in thought. _**"Let's see if you're the one Hagoromo spoke of, Naruto Uzumaki…"**_

* * *

Hana stifled a yawn as she continued to watch Naruto and his rabbit companion. It had been close to an hour since they had entered their trance, and her body was shutting down from the lack of activity. "C'mon, do something," she pleaded.

Her pleas were heard, thankfully, and she saw the two blink back into focus before talking to one another. While she couldn't really read their lips (or the rabbit girl's muzzle) she was able to see that both of them looked rather pleased and relieved about something. The talk with the beast must've went surprisingly well for them.

"I should ask mother what to do now that he's made solid contact. Maybe she'll have some better insight on this," mused the Chunin as she and her ninken left for home.

Five days and nights had been spent. She still had time to speak to the Uzumaki before the Finals.

* * *

 **1~ Yes, this is a slight cameo for Rukia Kuchiki from the _Bleach_ series. After all, she was a fan of a rabbit themed character AND has violet eyes too!**

 **2~ Each name of the Haimaru Triplets is associated with fire in some way. I'll let you guys look them up for yourself.**

 **And there's the first chapter of the new crossover! I hope you all enjoyed it!**

 **I also hope you guys don't mind the obvious pairing that will be Naruto and Judy. It's similar in nature to the pairing in my** _ **Kouma Shōkan**_ **story, and that pairing has been largely accepted by my readers. I just hope this is equally approved of.**

 **Now, Naruto will have ONE other bloodline besides his Uzumaki blood. I'll give you guys a SINGLE hint about it for you to try and guess: it is a mix of Earth Chakra and a second element!**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	2. Chapter 2: Training Days

**Second chapter coming at ya!**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **Naruto**_ **is owned by Kishimoto-sama while** _ **Zootopia**_ **is owned by Disney**

* * *

 _Usagi no Naruto_

 _Chapter Two: Training Days_

* * *

"How goes Naruto's training, Guy?" Sarutobi asked the green clad Jonin on the seventh morning of the training month. "I assume that you have him doing a physical regiment again this morning?"

Guy shook his head with a light smile. "Not at the moment, sir. Naruto asked for an opportunity to speak with Lee since he came to last night. I had plenty of time to speak with my precious student, and I figure he could give Naruto some useful advice on his opponent."

"Yes, it was quite the surprise when Naruto drew the number he did after the Preliminaries. I had expected him to be given the opportunity to face down young Neji after his bold declaration."

Guy frowned at that. "A part of me was hoping Naruto would've had that chance to face Neji, considering the unyouthful act he took against Lady Hinata. But I suppose someone else will have to face him. I expect Shino to give him a run for his money for what he did to the young Aburame's teammate."

"Indeed," agreed Sarutobi as he took a light drag from his pipe. "What exactly do you plan to teach Naruto, besides a more refined taijutsu? I do hope you won't teach him how to open any of the Celestial Gates."

"That's a hope I'll, regrettably, have to dash, Lord Hokage," replied the Jonin with a straight face. "If Naruto is to have a better chance at facing Gaara, then he needs every advantage he can. Granted, he won't be able to open the Third Gate, but he should be able to get the first two opened by the end of the month."

"Nothing else?" The Hokage looked surprised at the lack of details on Naruto's training schedule. "No ninjutsu or anything else? We both saw how pure taijutsu – even with the Gates – faired against that sand defense. Naruto needs more at his disposal or he will be in danger!"

"Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but I believe Naruto would be ashamed at the seemingly little faith you have in him, sir." Guy didn't even bat an eyelash at the stricken look on his leader's face. "Naruto has an incredible level of ingenuity, and I wouldn't be surprised if he could give young Shikamaru a run for his money in planning. While that boy could plan a hundred moves with enough time, Naruto could come up with workable strategies while in the heat of combat. He's definitely a reactive kind of thinker."

"That kind of thinking will only get him so far," spoke up another voice from the windowsill, making the other two turn to the speaker.

"Jiraiya," greeted the Hokage with a smile. "Glad you could make it. I trust your network is running well?"

"As well as could be expected," the Sannin replied as he stepped fully into the office. "I was surprised when one of my internal members in the village informed me that Naruto already has a Summoning Partner. I thought I was supposed to have him sign the Toad Contract?"

"Things happened a couple of years after we made that plan. I couldn't just tell Naruto to abandon the Summon he chose because of something we decided for him."

Guy frowned at this, both at feeling a bit out of place and for how Naruto – who showed himself to be a compassionate young man – seemed to be having his future planned for him. It reminded him of how Neji always spoke of "fate" and "predetermined destinies" running the lives of everyone and everything. He, Lee, and Naruto all though such thinking was unfounded; and only Lee didn't see it as being spiritually weak while he and Naruto saw it that way.

However, he said nothing since it wasn't his place. Naruto was not his true student, nor was he a member of Team 9. He couldn't speak up on his behalf since that right belonged to Kakashi. Although he was slightly annoyed that his rival wasn't here to do so.

"Well, I can't make the kid my apprentice if he doesn't have the Toads on hand. My whole fighting style revolves around them; not cottontails," declared Jiraiya with his arms crossed. "Where the hell did he even find that Rabbit Contract anyway?"

"The library after his second failed attempt at graduating the Academy," Sarutobi answered. "It was by pure chance that the scroll was misplaced into some archives and that he found it; let alone it _not_ being confiscated when he was kicked out of the library."

"…I don't know whether to call that the Devil's Luck or Lady Luck's Blessing," deadpanned the Toad Sage, though he was completely serious about the statement.

Guy coughed into his fist, letting the other two men know that he was still in the room. "If that is all, sir? I need to start planning out Naruto's next set of exercises before I get him started on the First Gate."

The Hokage nodded and waved the Jonin away, leaving himself and Jiraiya alone in the office. "Did I hear that right?" Jiraiya questioned with a raised brow. "The Celestial Gates at his age? Is Guy insane?"

"One of his students took to the Gates quite well and displayed a great deal of control over them; even if he became hospitalized after his fight. However, I believe Naruto may have a benefit that could somewhat counter the Gates' negative side effects."

The Toad Sage frowned at that, but gave a small nod. After all, it didn't take a genius to get what the old man was referring to.

* * *

"How are you holding up, Lee?" asked Naruto as he sat by his fellow Genin's bed. "I know that your fight with Gaara really messed you up."

The bowl-headed teen sighed at that. "Yes, I find myself feeling an unnerving amount of pain on my left arm and leg. I had hoped to be able to resume training with Guy-sensei, but…"

"They told you about your chances, didn't they?" Silence was his answer. "Hey, don't be so down about it. All we gotta do is find this Tsunade lady and have her come back to fix you up. She's one of the Sannin, so she's bound to know how to get you back on your feet!"

Judy, who was seated in her own chair, shared a supportive nod with her partner. "That's right. Don't give up just yet, Lee."

Rock Lee gave the both of them a small, but very grateful, smile. "Thank you both. I appreciate the youthful support."

Naruto gave his fellow Genin a grin and a thumbs-up, unknowingly giving him the "Nice Guy" pose. "Don't sweat it, Lee. That's what friends are for." He dropped the pose and rubbed his head with a slightly awkward smile. "Listen, I was kinda wondering if you had some advice for me."

"Advice? About what?"

"…My opponent for the Finals is Gaara." He saw Lee's eyes widen. "I asked Guy-sensei to help me get ready, but I feel like hearing from your personal experience would give me a better understanding of how to face him."

Lee frowned at that. "I'm not sure that I could be much help to you, Naruto. I wasn't a match for Gaara, as you can see from my current position."

"True, you lost," began Judy, "but you also have a better understanding of how to deal with the sand that Gaara uses. No one else has faced him, so Naruto can't get any advice from anyone else. You have the experience he needs."

Lee still looked unsure, so Naruto decided to lay all his cards on the table. "Look, Lee… I've never admitted this to anyone, but I'm actually scared of what could happen to me in the Finals." He had Lee's attention now. "I try hard to seem confident and sure of myself, but I know that without anyone to help me, then I'll die; and that terrifies me. I don't want to step onto that field feeling scared; I want to show up with confidence." He gave a smile and waved an arm to the crippled teen. "To tell you the truth, Lee, you're a great inspiration to me."

"I am…?" asked Lee in shock.

"Yeah, you are. Even without the ability to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, you still made it as a ninja, and you were able to do a crazy amount of damage to Gaara with just your taijutsu! You broke through his automatic defense _and_ his sand armor! You caught him off guard and actually made him _move_ in a fight! And when you used those Gates…" Here, Naruto gave a chuckle of disbelief. "I still can't wrap my head around how you lost. You had him on the ropes, but he pulled out some last ditch defense in the end. But even with that loss and your injuries, I still find you to be a great ninja."

Lee's eyes were wide at the truthful confession. He had never really had anyone look up to him or see him as a role model before. It was shocking to say the least. Meanwhile, Judy was proud of how her friend was helping Lee with his truthful comments. Once again, she was able to see just how compassionate her partner was towards others.

"You once told me that Neji and Sasuke were geniuses because of how talented they naturally were. Well, if anyone was a real _genius_ , then it would be you Lee. You're a genius of hard work, and don't you forget it!" finished the Uzumaki with a bright grin.

The smile was so contagious that Lee couldn't help but return it, the corners of his eyes growing wet from how touched he was at his friend's words. Even if he was crippled, he felt that a part of his dream to be a splendid ninja had been realized.

Outside of the room, Guy was also smiling gratefully at Naruto's words. _'I'm glad Lee has a youthful friend like you, Naruto.'_

* * *

"Alright, let's see," Naruto mused as he and Judy looked over a seal design he had copied from the Uzumaki Scroll. The scroll itself held three things: a smaller scroll that detailed key points on his clan's culture (considering their nation resided on an island), a small journal with a number of sealing designs, and half a dozen headbands with the Uzumaki insignia on them.

Considering how he would be representing his clan, Naruto had no qualms with adding one of their headbands to his attire and wore it like a belt. Judy wore one as well, but it was strapped diagonally around her form from the right shoulder to her left hip and tied in the back.

"One of your markings is off," informed the rabbit girl, pointing to the mark in question. Once she saw Naruto fix it, she looked at the design for anymore flaws. "I think…that's it. Give it a try."

He grinned at that and placed a single leaf he plucked from the ground earlier on top of the seal. With a slight application of chakra, he activated the seal and some markings similar to the seal's design spread across the leaf. He reached down, cutting off chakra from his hand, and tried to move the leaf, but the markings gave off a glow when he did and the leaf wouldn't budge in the slightest. Resuming the natural flow of chakra into his hand, he found himself able to free the leaf easily while the markings receded back into the tag on the ground.

Both human and Usagi found themselves grinning at the successfully made Restraint Tag. It wasn't a particularly high caliber seal like the ones his clan were famous for, but it was a step in the right direction. After all, the basics of any skill or trade were fundamental for advanced practices down the line.

"Great job," she praised, and while she kept her smile, she was internally sad that her partner turned so bashful at a small compliment. _'Then again, I was the same growing up. At least I had plenty of family, but who all did you have, Naruto?'_

"Okay!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Let's move onto the next seal!"

Her smile returned to its genuine level and she gave a faint nod. _'You have me,'_ she mentally declared, answering her earlier query as she and Naruto looked at the next design. _'And like I've told you before, I'm with you, Naruto…'_

To the edge and back.

* * *

Hana was growing frustrated and her ninken could tell. Why was she frustrated, one might ask? Well the answer was simple: she couldn't find Naruto Uzumaki!

 _'Seriously!'_ she mentally ranted as she leapt onto another roof. _'How hard is it to find someone with gold hair wearing ORANGE?!'_

Let it be known that, while he preferred to wear clothes that made him stand out and be seen, Naruto could be quite stealthy when he wished to be. He had hone that skill tremendously during his pranking days; especially with ninja on his tail before he even entered the Academy.

In fact, only Iruka was able to find him; though no one had the slightest idea as to why.

Hana was tempted to go find her fellow Chunin and have him help her search for the Uzumaki under threat of his manhood being a chew toy for the Haimaru trio. Luckily for the Academy Instructors privates, Honō picked up a scent and barked.

"About time," she noted with relief as she let the ninken take point. A halfbreed of the Ōkami she may be, but she still wasn't as well-trained in her sense of smell as a full-blooded canine. When they reached the largest gathering of the Genin's scent, she barely resisted the urge to palm her face. "Of course he was here," she grumbled as she stepped into the training field for Team 7.

And lo and behold, there was the Genin she was searching for along with his rabbit partner. This was actually the closest she and her ninken had ever been to the duo, and she was able to smell that the rabbit was female; plus the overall build of the humanoid rabbit looked more feminine.

 _'Now or never, I guess,'_ she mused as she saw the two of them looking over a journal of sorts and some seal tags on the ground. She smirked as she decided to have a little fun with the orange clad boy. "There you are! Geez, I've been looking for you all day. How the _hell_ can you be so hard to find running around in bright ass orange?! It makes what would happen if you switched to basic black downright terrifying; you know that, Bunny Boy?!" She took some not-so-small pleasure when Naruto and Judy both jumped, jolted from their concentration at the sudden voice and they turned to see who had spoken.

Hana was a young woman a few years older than him, with long brown hair that she had in a ponytail with two locks of hair framing her face over her large, black eyes. She also had on a light shade of lipstick and had the traditional fang-like tattoos of the Inuzuka Clan on both of her cheeks; however, her appearance was noticeably softer than the members of that family, not having the extended canines, the slit-like eyes, or the wild and untamed hair. She had on light-brown clothes with white faux fur around the collar and a grey sash around her waist.

"Ok," began Naruto, standing up from the ground with his partner, "who are you?" He then realized the nickname she gave him. "And _what_ did you just call me?!"

Hana just smiled. "In reverse order; I called you _Bunny Boy_ on account of your summons and I'm sure you've had it with being associated with foxes. As for who I am, the name's Hana Inuzuka."

Naruto went red. Ok, first off that nickname HAD to die! He wasn't at all ashamed of his affiliation to the rabbits – since he had an awesome partner in Judy – but that name would make being taken seriously almost impossible! Even Judy didn't like being called a simple bunny! And judging from the look on her face, she was annoyed by the name too!

But once he shook off his embarrassment, he took note of what she said her name was. "Inuzuka?" he asked, studying her face. "Uh…don't take this the wrong way, but you…don't look all that much like an Inuzuka, except for those red marks on your face. Most of them have that wild animal look; no offense."

She merely shrugged since she got that a lot. It was no secret to her that she didn't look as wild as the rest of her family. In fact, she got the softer features from her dad; which was kind of funny when she thought about it, really. A wolf having softer features than a human was ironic in a very humorous way.

"None taken. Like I said though, I've been looking for you for a while now. Although, with how much you have the scents of both rabbits and ramen on you, a tracker would think that there was a walking bowl of rabbit-flavored ramen going around," Hana said flatly.

Judy paled at the idea of rabbits being used as a dish like that, and Naruto nodded with an embarrassed head rub. Ok… _that_ example was the kind of comment Kiba would say.

"So you're an Inuzuka after all, then," the blonde confirmed.

Hana nodded, but then frowned as the Genin slipped into what was unmistakably a fighting stance. She rose a brow at the beginning stance of the Heavy Fist; though it looked just a tad shaky. _'Not bad. Guy's really been pushing him this past week.'_

"So, what do you want? Did the butt sniffer send you to get back at me since he's too spineless to do it himself?" Naruto demanded.

 _'Butt sniffer?'_ she repeated in her head. _'Did he just…?'_ Hana snorted, trying desperately not to laugh…and utterly failed at it! In the time it took to blink, Hana was on all fours, beating the ground with her fists and rolling around, howling with laughter and clutching her sides as tears leaked from her eyes. This caught the rabbit duo off guard somewhat.

After a good five minutes, Hana got up, gasping as she tried to breath properly again, chuckling to herself still as she clapped slowly.

"Not bad, pup," she praised. "A good name for my idiot brother since he _did_ smell _your_ butt." She snickered and added, "I bet he'll never forget your scent for as long as he lives."

The Haimaru brothers all looked amused and gave barking comments that made Hana cough out another laugh. Judy also stifled a laugh since she understood what they had said, though Naruto looked lost. Seeing this, Judy explained, "They said that they wonder if Kiba will smell old ramen for the rest of his life."

Naruto rolled his eyes with an amused smile before turning back to Hana. "So, if you're not here to get back at me, then why are you here?"

"To avoid beating around the bush, I want to help you and your friend there," Hana pointed at Judy, "get ready for the Finals. I understand that you have Guy helping you out physically, and that's great. But from what I can see when I look at you two, you're both going to need to learn some team tactics and collaboration techniques if you want to be an effective team."

"Why help us?" Judy asked suspiciously, shifting her right leg slightly. "I thought dogs hunted rabbits?"

Hana rolled her eyes at that. "I'm not particularly fond of rabbits, so I'll pass on that. Besides, this goes beyond that whole predator/prey relationship our two animal connections naturally have. The way I see it, you both are valuable members of the Leaf's Ninja Forces. As such, it's my duty to help lower classed ninja like you be more prepared."

"And what do you get out of this?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.

"I get to say that I helped someone who was seen as a failure beat the odds and become a great ninja," she answered truthfully. "I had tried to help out my brother many times, but he always blew off my help and said he didn't need it." There was a brief moment where her eyes reflected an inner pain, and she was unaware that Naruto had noticed it before she could rein it back in. "So, I figured that I could show him what he missed by helping out the kid who beat him. It might seem selfish on my part; but hey, at least you get someone else to help you, right?"

"…That's true," he conceded. "Plus, it would be nice to have someone help me and Judy get better synchronized."

Judy reluctantly nodded, still not fully convinced that the Inuzuka was being 100% honest. But, she had spoken sincerely and Naruto was starting to turn around, so she would go along with it. That didn't mean she wouldn't keep an eye on Hana or her ninken.

"So, do you accept my help?' Hana asked.

Naruto shared a look with his partner, silently asking for her opinion. Judy closed her eyes and gave a sigh before she nodded once. The blonde turned back to Hana and gave his own in agreement. "Sure, we'll accept your help. I'm honestly wondering what you'll have us learn during the rest of the month."

Hana gave a slightly fanged grin. "You'll find out soon, Bunny Boy."

He and Judy both had their brows twitch. "Don't call me/him that," they both deadpanned, but in a sharp tone.

All they got in response was Hana keeping her grin.

* * *

A week had passed since that day, and we find Naruto once again going through a rigorous training segment with Guy before the first crack of dawn. This morning, the Jonin had Naruto running around the outer gates of the village with three things slowing him down: his leg weights (which had once again been increased), his turtle shell pack (almost double in weight from his first shell), and a large tarp that had the corners secured by ropes tied to a harness on his belt (the tarp being used as extra air resistance).

Naruto had his teeth grit as he pushed through his morning run while Guy was staying at his side while doing the lap on his hands. As for Judy, she was running alongside him with her own leg weights, shell, and tarp harness. Both of them were in the training together, so Guy made sure to have them both do the same kind of intense exercises.

"Come on, Naruto! Let yours and Judy's youth EXPLODE and finish this exercise!" supported Guy before taking off at high speed on his hands.

Both human and rabbit had a comical sweatdrop join the natural beads of sweat that had formed during their run. "I'll never get used to that," commented the blonde.

"Same here," Judy agreed.

 _ **"** **As far as humans go, he's in a whole separate category."**_

Turns out even Kurama couldn't help but make a comment.

Naruto pushed chakra into his limbs and his body began to move faster, but he felt something blocking him from using more. Frowning, he pumped more and tried to have it break the "blockage" by force. As he did, he felt a sharp pain in his head that left just as suddenly as it came.

However, when that pain left, he felt his body get flooded with chakra while his muscles felt like they were on fire. Along with those feelings was his body now moving faster as if the restrictions were of no consequence to his speed. And so, he blazed through the rest of the lap while Judy decided to just stop running and take strong leaps to finish.

A few minutes after Guy had finished his hand-standing lap, he heard someone approaching at high speed and turned to see that it was his blonde student. One of his thick eyebrows rose at this before both of them furrowed in realization. _'So, he must have forcibly opened the First Gate. I didn't think he'd open it on his own and that I'd have to show him how to do so. This might be a good thing…'_

Naruto stopped running and was panting hard before he fell on his back with a groan. "Aw, man! My arms and legs feel like they're made of lead!"

The man gave a hapless chuckle at that complaint. _'Though I should DEFINITELY warn him about the negative effects of using the Gates.'_ He then saw Judy leaping to the finish before falling to her knees in exhaustion herself. Both of them were breathing heavily, though Naruto's breaths sounded just a bit strained due to the First Gate's negative recoil. _'I better get someone to look him over, just to be safe.'_

* * *

"Damn that stings," Naruto hissed out as he tested his limbs. He was being looked over by Hana after asking Judy to go find her.

According to Guy, his muscles had been stressed due to him forcing open the First Gate: the Gate of Opening. The Jonin had explained that the First Gate had the brain give full 100% usage of his body's muscle strength instead of the naturally restricted 20%. Since he was nowhere used to 100%, his body was incredibly sore and had stinging feelings in several jointed areas.

"You're lucky it _only_ stings, idiot," admonished Hana as she used her healing jutsu on him. "What were you thinking, forcing your chakra to break past that _blockage_ as you called it?"

"Nngh," he groaned as the pain slowly subsided. "I was thinking that I wanted to get passed the exercise. I only have two weeks left and I know I'm not strong enough yet."

"You keep being reckless like you just were and you won't have to worry about being _strong enough_. Don't forget, idiot, that there's a reason that the Eight Gates are a Forbidden Technique."

He looked away shamefully, not used to having someone berate him like she was. But, a small part of him felt strangely happy that she _was_ berating him. He didn't understand why though.

Judy watched the interaction and the light twitch of her partner's lips, and she gave a faint smile. She had an idea why they did that, but she wouldn't say anything unless he brought it up to her. Some things were just that personal, and she would respect that.

"Alright, I did all I could for you," declared Hana as she stood up. "Just take it easy for the rest of the day." Catching his pout, she bent down and lowered her face to his with a dangerous expression. "I mean it, Whiskers. I catch you not resting and I'll make sure they have a vacant room for you at the hospital. Get it?"

He gulped at the threat and nodded while comically sweating with anxiety. "Got it," he nearly squeaked out.

"Good," stated Hana before giving him a condescending pat on the head. " _Little bunnies_ shouldn't try and play with the _big dogs_."

His brow twitched dangerously at that comment. "…I hate you…"

She just grinned before walking away. "I know you mean _love_!" she called back to him over her shoulder, making him give a ghost of a smile.

 _'Weird… Why do I feel so…happy?'_ he thought.

"Ready to go home?" Judy asked, getting his attention. "We could work on some more seals while you rest up?"

He mentally shook off his earlier question before grinning at his friend. "Yeah, that sounds good."

* * *

Only a single week was left before the Finals and Naruto was sparring with Hana while Judy took on one of the Haimaru brothers. While not looking like the stereotypical Inuzuka, Hana was still a fierce combatant and wasn't afraid to use her claws in the fight.

However, Naruto was using everything he had learned in this spar. He kept his focus on his legs and moved quickly past Hana's strikes and into her guard; almost hopping right into it when he kicked off the ground. When he was close enough, he went for a rising knee strike, but Hana slapped the knee down and went for a swipe with her claws.

Leaning back, Naruto avoided the attack, but kept his body rolling backwards before he kicked off the ground and struck Hana in the chin with his feet. The back-flipping kick rattled her and she stumbled, leaving herself open for Naruto to immediately kick off the ground as soon as he landed. In midair, he spun in place and lashed out with another kick, crying out, "Leaf Hurricane!"

Hana righted herself just in time to avoid the first kick, but it ended up being a feint for the true kick, which actually aimed lower and struck her in the chest. With a grunt she was pushed back before holding up a hand to stop their spar. Just in time too, for she absently noted that Judy had incapacitated her ninken with a well-placed senbon needle.

 _'Damn, that bunny is downright deadly with those,'_ she though with a wince. She had firsthand experience with senbon and how they could shut down the body. It wasn't fun…at all.

"So," Naruto began, lightly panting, "how'd I do?"

She chuckled and rubbed her jaw, still sore from the kick. "Not bad, Whiskers. Maybe next time I'll be a little more serious."

"Keep telling yourself that," he shot back, grinning with her as Judy walked over to them. "Have fun reversing the Food Chain?"

"Oh, most definitely," Judy answered, and all three of them shared a light laugh. It was becoming just another day for them since Hana had offered her help.

It took some time for him to figure out – as well as asking Judy about it – but Naruto was finally able to understand _why_ the insults and teasing that he and Hana gave one another made him happy. Because he had never really had anyone to call family, he yearned for that type of connection with someone. And with Hana, he found himself feeling like he had an older sister; one that would tease him but also guide him and teach him.

Sure, he sort of felt that with Ayame as well, but she wasn't much older than him; so it didn't really have the same depth. Don't get him wrong though, he still loved Ayame very much and would do anything to keep her safe; it was his nature.

But Hana was five years his senior compared to Ayame's two years. It was hard to explain, but it just felt a tad more significant. He didn't say anything to Hana though, because a part of him felt like he would be seeing her less and less after the Finals were done. Such feelings left him depressed, but he refused to show it.

"Well runt, I gotta get going," Hana said as she easily hefted her immobile ninken on her shoulder while her other two flanked her. "Keep practicing with Bunny Girl, alright?"

Having realized that Hana wouldn't stop calling her that nickname anytime soon, Judy said nothing; though her brow did twitch.

"Will do! Thanks again, Hana!" he called to her as she left. He then turned to Judy and said, "You're awfully quiet for being called _Bunny_."

"I've decided to ignore that. If I get upset when she calls me that, then what happens when someone trying to kill us does it and I fly off the handle?" she questioned in response, earning a grim nod from her partner. "Besides, the more she does it, the worse her prank will be when we finally nail her!"

He laughed when he saw her punch a furry fist into her other hand. "That's true! But we'll have to start planning for _that_ after the Finals."

"Then I'll just have to really savor that moment when it comes," she declared with an evil looking grin.

All Naruto did was snort out another laugh. He'd never say it out loud, but seeing her make that face was just too adorable.

* * *

Guy watched as Naruto roared and slammed a thick log into the ground with a high-speed, rotating pile driver; the Primary Lotus.

During this last week, he had drilled Naruto every day to have him get used to the First Gate and the boost it gives, along with being able to use the Primary Lotus. Like Lee, Naruto struggled at first to get used to it; but unlike Lee, Naruto's natural recovery helped him get back on his feet quicker and give it another go.

Once again, a part of the Jonin wished that he had noticed the boy's potential sooner. He pulled some strings with Lee to get him to graduate and on his team, so he probably could've done the same for the orange clad teen.

"C'mon," he heard Judy say supportively as she helped Naruto to his feet. "Up we go, Foxy."

Seeing the smile on Naruto's face made that regret he was feeling vanish in exchange for a smile. _'No, if I had chosen him sooner, then he probably wouldn't have met Judy. A bond like theirs is a rare thing to find, and I wouldn't want to deprive him of that; not with the life he lived.'_

Naruto was steadying his breathing while Judy supported him from the waist. "How was…that, Guy-sensei?"

He turned back to the log and saw that it was split down the middle. It wasn't a clean split like the Lotus should've done, but it was pretty close. "It's acceptable for now, given the timeframe we've had. Now, I want you to open the Second Gate. Remember what it was called?"

Nodding, the Uzumaki answered, "The Gate of Healing. And like the First Gate, it's located up in the brain, but on the other side."

Judy chimed in next, "And you told us that it will help rejuvenate for a short while before the exhaustion returns."

"That's correct, Miss Hopps!" exclaimed Guy with a thumbs-up and smile.

The rabbit duo were both forced to blink when the smile was accompanied by a bright ping.

"The opening of the Second Gate will get you back in the game, but it will only be for a limited time. So when you use it, you have to either end the fight or stall enough to withdraw. Remember that Gaara is a strong opponent; stronger than most of the other Genin. If the judges see that you gave it a valiant effort, but still knew when to make a tactical retreat, they'll see that as good decision making." His smile lessened a little, but it was still there even with the serious nature of his lecture. "Sometimes, a ninja must know when to withdraw. They can't fight to the last man for every mission. They must do what they can to see the mission through with the least amount of casualties; and that could mean both injuries and death. Do you understand?"

Both Naruto and Judy nodded. "We do," they said as one.

Guy's smile returned to full force and he gave another thumbs-up. "Excellent! Now, as much as I've enjoyed helping you train, I should let you have the last day of this month to rest and prepare. Training is good, but you must also know when to take it easy and let the body recover; even if you have a higher degree of healing than most."

"Got it," Naruto replied before he gave a respectful bow from the waist. "Thank you so much for helping me this month, Guy-sensei. I really appreciate it."

"We both do," Judy added as she too gave a bow. "We'll show everyone just what your training did for us."

The man gave a boisterous laugh and nodded to them both, his grin so wide that his eyes were shut. "Think nothing of it! You two are fine examples of those who believe in hard work, as well as those with the Flames of Youth!"

Both of them chuckled, but Naruto had one last question. "Hey, sensei, I have to know…what are the Flames of Youth anyway?"

Guy's grin softened considerably, changing into a warm smile as he turned to see the village from the Hokage Mountain they were training on top of. "It's my personal name for the village's Will of Fire," he answered simply, making the other two smile as they too looked out to the village.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the village gave off a fiery luminance that made it look all the more stunning. When they would look back on this day, both Naruto Uzumaki and Judy Hopps would say that this day helped solidify their belief in the village's greatest philosophy.

* * *

The night before the Finals was an awkward time for Naruto and Judy. The whole day had been spent planning and getting seal tags made, as well as a new outfit for Naruto to wear.

However, to their surprise, they had been invited by Hana to join her at the Inuzuka Compound for dinner. Of course, for two rabbit related people to step foot into a canine related place, it was very nerve-wracking.

But, to their fortune, the only people that they were joining were Hana, the Haimaru brothers, an older woman Naruto recognized as the Clan Head, and the woman's ninken who looked like the dog version of a war veteran.

In respect to Judy being an herbivore, Hana gave the rabbit girl a bowl of greens, carrots, and berries to eat while Naruto had been just fine with meat that was offered. As they ate, they noticed that Tsume was giving them curious looks, and Naruto couldn't take the growing anxiety anymore.

"Not to be rude, but why are you staring at us?" he asked after taking another bite. Judy had set down one of her carrots to listen as well while Hana watched in silence.

Tsume hummed thoughtfully as she looked over the young man before her. "You seem different from the last time I saw you. Back then you were cocky and overly excited, but now you seem to be much calmer and more confident. Did one month really affect you that much?"

"It wouldn't have if I didn't have Guy-sensei and Hana-senpai helping me with my training," he answered truthfully. "She was a big help in getting me and Judy in better synch for the Finals, and I had fun sparring with her and her ninken."

"Not to mention that she gave me some pointers on healing jutsu," Judy added with a light smile. Jabbing a thumb towards her partner, she continued, "Now, I could help this idiot stay out of too much trouble."

Hana smirked at that while Naruto slumped dramatically. "I don't get into _that_ much trouble…" he mumbled.

"Yes you do," both Hana and Judy deadpanned, which made a depression cloud form over Naruto. Both women laughed at that while Tsume smirked at the comfortable air that the trio had.

 _'My my… Seems like he helped you in return, Hana; even if he hasn't realized it yet,'_ she mused.

It had been a while since she had seen her daughter so comfortable and upbeat. Most of the time she was withdrawn, if not perfectly polite; especially around other Inuzuka.

 _'And yet, when she's around this boy and his partner, she allows herself to open up and be herself for a change… Maybe it was a good thing for her to help him and his rabbit friend.'_

Kuromaru sensed the change in demeanor from his partner and watched the exchange between her pup and the other two. He smirked at seeing Tsume's pup relaxing and having a nice time; even if it was with their natural prey.

Clearing her throat, Tsume got their attention once again. "I'm glad to see that my daughter had such a positive effect on you, pup. It's an improvement from how you used to be for sure." She smirked and continued, "And I should thank you for showing my other pup some humility. Kiba was getting a bit too cocky for my taste, and I would've helped drive that home myself if you hadn't beat him in the Preliminaries."

He blushed in embarrassment, which only served to make her smirk grow in amusement. "I uh… It was nothing really. I mean, I didn't really even win fairly."

She barked out a laugh at his response. "Pup, if there's one thing you should always remember about the life of a ninja, then let it be this: we use everything at our disposal to get through the mission at hand. As far as I'm concerned, you passing gas was just another way of using what you had."

Naruto groaned in further embarrassment, his face hitting the table to hide the red blush. It was that reaction that caused everyone else to have a good laugh. And even though he was thoroughly embarrassed about his "come-from-behind" victory, Naruto smiled at the warm air that he felt around the Inuzuka Matriarch and her eldest child.

For some reason, he felt content.

* * *

Standing outside the lower entrance to the Chunin Exam Stadium was Naruto and Judy. He was trying to calm his nerves before walking inside and taking his place amongst his fellow Genin combatants. Judy stood by his side, offering silent support for her partner.

He had already received words of encouragement from Guy and from Lee, who was being allowed to watch the matches with a paramedic watching over his condition. Both were very supportive and helped ease some of his nerves; but he still felt anxious, considering who his opponent was.

"Hey, Whiskers!" called out a familiar voice, making both of them turn to see Hana approaching them with a smirk. "Don't tell me that the _Mighty Rabbits_ of the Leaf are feeling scared?"

He growled at her teasing. "I'm not scared!" he said dramatically while pointing a finger at her face. "I'm gonna go in there and show everyone that Judy and I are the best!"

All Hana did was soften her smirk into a smile before she ruffled his spiky hair. His eyes were wide at the warm gesture and he felt all of his tension melt away. "I know you will, runt," she replied before surprising him yet again by crouching down slightly to hug him. "Be careful in there," she continued. "Don't do anything stupid, don't be reckless, and for the love of everything don't be _too_ idiotic."

He couldn't help but grin at her advice, nodding in agreement. "I won't, but don't be surprised if my make _one_ idiotic mistake or two."

She scoffed playfully. "Yeah, I'd be more surprised if you didn't do _anything_ idiotic in there." Turning to Judy, she gave a look of mock exasperation. "Keep an eye on him, will ya? We _all_ know he needs _someone_ watching his back."

Judy shook her head in amusement at the banter between both ninja. "I'll be sure to keep him in line."

"Hey, I resent that!" cried out the blonde.

"Hush you," admonished Judy playfully. "The women are talking."

Naruto crossed his arms and turned away, grumbling about women and making said women laugh at his misfortune. Hana ruffled his head again and said, "I better get to my seat. Good luck in there, pup." As she walked away, she turned back one last time and added, "Nice clothes by the way!"

The clothes in question consisted of a black sleeveless undershirt, an orange over-shirt with two white straps on each shoulder (each bearing the Leaf Village symbol), the Uzumaki headband wrapped around his waist, and black stretch pants with a pair of lightweight brown shoes. Around his neck was a beige sash while similarly colored leg warmers were around his shins. From fingertip to elbow on both arms were white wrappings similar to what Lee wore around his own arms. (1)

All-in-all, Naruto looked more professional than he did in his orange track suit. He may have loved the color and how it helped him get attention, but he understood that he had to take his career seriously and show the judges that he could do that. So, he chose a new outfit; but he couldn't resist having his favorite color in it somewhere.

"So," began Judy as the two of them once again faced the entrance, "you ready?"

His whiskered cheeks stretched as he gave a confident grin and nod. "Let's do this, Judy!"

* * *

 **1~ He's in a more masculine version of Yoruichi Shihōin's outfit from** _ **Bleach**_

 **And there you have it; Chapter Two!**

 **Now, a lot of you guys guessed on Naruto's elemental bloodline. VERY few of you guessed correctly. Most of you guessed overused choices that I'd rather not use in this.**

 **I mean really, how often would you guys see a** _ **Naruto**_ **story with the bloodline I'm choosing? I say not often!**

 **On another note, this is the second element from the** _ **Bleach**_ **series that I've thrown in. Coincidence? Nah, not really. In fact, don't be surprised if I bring in MORE elements from that series!**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	3. Chapter 3: The Finals

**Third chapter coming at ya!**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **Naruto**_ **is owned by Kishimoto-sama while** _ **Zootopia**_ **is owned by Disney**

 **I also do NOT own any of the music used in this chapter or any future chapters!**

* * *

 _Usagi no Naruto_

 _Chapter Three: The Finals_

* * *

"Listen up," began Genma, the Jonin preceding the Finals as the proctor. "There's been a change to the matches. Take a look and memorize it."

The eight Genin competing in the Finals all looked at the hand-sized poster the man showed them. At first glance, the matches looked like they had suffered no change; but after a second glance, they saw that Dosu from the Hidden Sound was no longer in the Chunin Exams. This meant that Shikamaru Nara would go straight to his match with Temari of the Sand instead of needing a victory against Dosu to get to her.

The other matches were still the same: Shino Aburame vs Neji Hyuuga, Sasuke Uchiha vs Kankuro of the Sand, and Naruto Uzumaki vs Gaara of the Desert.

"Now look alive, brats," Genma continued after letting them look over the small change, turning to face the excited spectators. "You're all the stars of this little production we're putting on. Try to make it look good for all your _adoring fans_."

None of the Genin found humor in the man's joke as they waited for the Hokage to start the Finals.

* * *

Guy was seated in the front row with his protégé and the paramedic assigned to the crippled Genin. He had a surprisingly calm smile on his face as he waited alongside the hundreds of other spectators; both ninja and civilian alike.

"Guy-sensei," Lee said, getting the man's attention before gesturing with his head to the top of the stairs where Kakashi was descending.

The green clad Jonin nodded before he regarded his rival. "Kakashi, I'm honestly surprised that you're here on time. I would've thought you and young Sasuke would've been fashionably late."

The man gave his signature eye-smile from behind his ever present orange book. "Oh, I had a little…incentive to being on time for once."

Guy gave the man a knowing look that showed amusement. He knew that the Hokage had practically arm-twisted the silver haired Jonin into being on time. The reason was simple: due to the potential clients witnessing the matches, it helped bolster the Leaf's reputation if _all_ of their Genin were present and accounted for at the _start_ of the Finals. It showed professionalism and punctuality to the masses.

"At any rate," Guy said as he continued their conversation, "I hope that this past month bore fruit for your Genin. Although, I doubt that Sasuke will have much trouble against his opponent considering the circumstances." He made a casual show of turning back to watch the Genin as he asked, "How did Naruto's training go with you? It must've been hard to try and divide your time between two Genin and make sure they each brought forth different skillsets to display."

Kakashi eyed his self-proclaimed rival out of the corner of his visible eye. "Actually, I don't know how Naruto's training went. I would've thought that _you_ would be more in-the-know about that if the rumors I hear have any value."

Seated around the conversing men were the rest of the Leaf's more notable Genin, along with their sensei, Anko Mitarashi, Hana Inuzuka, and the Chunin's mother Tsume. They were silent as they eavesdropped on the two Jonin, and some of the Genin were a bit surprised at Kakashi's slight accusation. Only Hana and Tsume smirked at it, though.

"Oh? And what rumors have influenced your question, my hip rival?" Guy asked in response.

"That you've taken Naruto under your wing for the month to get him ready to fight Gaara," answered Kakashi.

"Wait," interrupted Ino Yamanaka, curious about the gossip. "That idiot is staying in the Finals?! Didn't he see what happened to Lee?!" When the crippled Genin cleared his throat, the blonde girl blushed at forgetting that he was there.

The single black eye of Kakashi narrowed as he continued, "I don't want you giving Naruto false hope that could get him killed. We don't need another Genin nearly killed in these exams."

Guy, to Kakashi's surprise, actually gave a scoff at that. "Better to give the boy hope than to crush any hope he has, Kakashi. Besides, I know he'll do what needs to be done if he gets pushed into a corner." He gave a grin as he looked to his masked rival out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sure that Naruto will surprise you when his match comes."

Tenten Higurashi, Guy's female student, couldn't hold back her question as her sensei finished speaking. "Sensei…you didn't teach that Naruto kid anything too…dangerous, did you? I mean, Lee was one thing, but…"

Sakura Haruno continued the question, showing some genuine concern for Naruto. "But Naruto doesn't have a handicap like Lee does. He has ninjutsu that he could use instead of just taijutsu."

Guy chuckled at their concern. "Don't worry. Everything I instructed Naruto in were things I know he could handle without a doubt. As for his other skills," here his chuckle became a bark of laughter, "the boy shows great ingenuity! Even I was impressed with what he came up with during this month!"

"Pft, whatever," Kiba scoffed in response to the Jonin's words. "The Dead Last doesn't have a shot against that Gaara guy. He should've just quit as soon as he found out who he was facing."

Beside him, Hinata Hyuuga looked worried for Naruto. He was, after all, a major source of inspiration for her. Behind the boy were his mother and sister, and both shook their heads at Kiba's dismissal of the blonde Genin.

"Well, at least he's here and didn't suffer being crop dusted, mutt," teased Anko, and the smirk she had grew at the indignant cry the Inuzuka heir gave her. "How's your nose, by the way? Still smelling digested ramen?"

Kiba was growling at that while the other Genin, even Hinata, stifled their amusement. Kurenai shook her head at Anko's antics, but she too looked amused at the memory.

"She's got you there, pup," Tsume said with a bark of laughter. Hana coughed into her fist to hide her own laughter, never finding her half-brother's dismay any less amusing.

* * *

After a moment longer, Sarutobi finally made the opening announcement to start the Chunin Exam Finals. As the crowd cheered, Genma had all of the Genin leave except for Shino and Neji, who stood across from one another.

"You both ready?" the Jonin asked.

"Yes, Genma-san," Shino replied respectfully.

"Let's get this over with," Neji said dismissively.

Genma raised his arm before bringing it down swiftly with a shout of, "Begin!"

As soon as the Jonin announced the start of the match, he leapt back a few feet. And it was just in time, for both Genin leapt back from one another while covering their jumps with thrown shuriken. The metal stars clashed in the center with only a couple getting by for each side.

Neji easily sidestepped away from the shuriken reaching hime while Shino deflected his with a kunai. With the opening moves done, both stood across from one another and sized up their opponent. Neji crossed his arms while Shino had his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"Give up," Neji stated. "Like what happened to Lady Hinata, your destiny is to lose today."

Shino's brows furrowed faintly, but to many it would've been waved off as a twitch. "Your clan may have eyes that can penetrate through nearly anything, but they cannot penetrate through the being each person has. You cannot see destiny or fate, Hyuuga-san. Claiming you can shows arrogance. Why? Because it is illogical and impossible to _see_ another's destiny."

"Spoken like a fool who tries to escape their destiny with futility," shot back the Hyuuga prodigy. "Destiny is set for every man, woman, and child from the moment they are conceived. It is inescapable."

"And you say this because…?" the Aburame heir pressed, secretly having his beetles burrow through the ground while Neji's Byakugan remained inactive.

"I don't need to explain myself to a fool his denies his fate."

As the two Genin spoke, Judy saw that Naruto was frowning deeply. She knew that it was because Neji's speech was reminding him of how he belittled Hinata before nearly killing her. As someone who tries to prove he can be more than he was _destined_ to be, Naruto immediately didn't like Neji or his views on life. It was a clash of opposites in terms of personal philosophy.

So, she wasn't at all surprised when her blonde friend leaned forward on the railing and yelled out, "Kick his ass, Shino! Hinata's your teammate, right?! Don't let this asshole get away with what he did to her!"

Shino's eyes, behind his dark glasses, moved to Naruto for a split second before returning to Neji. The Hyuuga frowned at the Uzumaki's words, but said nothing.

"You refuse to explain, but that shows a weakness on your part. How do you expect to get your point across if don't support it?" Shino questioned before he went through some handseals.

Neji retaliated by rushing towards the bug user, activating his bloodline as he got closer. With his eyes, he saw Shino gather chakra into his lungs while the energy itself started to become corrosive. _'I won't get to him in time,'_ the Hyuuga thought as he threw a shuriken while continuing his sprint.

Shino finished his seals and spun around the ninja star before lowering the collar of his jacket enough for him to use his jutsu. "Ninja Art: Poison Fog," he declared as he expelled a dark purple cloud from his mouth. The cloud spread quickly and began to expand outwards from ground zero, being Shino's body.

Neji stopped his run and grit his teeth at the quickly approaching fog. Because it was a chakra based cloud, it also hid Shino from his eyes within its dense mist. He began to backpedal away from the cloud, stopping when he was a safe distance.

Doing a quick measurement of the arena with his eyes, he saw that the total open space was around 250ft in diameter and Shino's jutsu took about 40ft diameter; almost a fifth of the space. _'I can't get too close or else I'll breathe in the poison, but I have no means of attacking from a distance except for shuriken and kunai,'_ he mused before tensing and leaping backward, avoiding a hand reaching up to grab him from beneath the earth.

The hand continued to break from the ground, revealing Shino. "I'd compliment your evasion, but it would be a wasted effort due to your eyes. Or did you already know I was going take back my compliment? Was I destined to deny you praise, Hyuuga-san?"

Neji growled at the insult, but it changed to a smirk since Shino was now closer. He was fast enough to get within the Aburame's guard and block some of his chakra points before going in for the finish.

With his plan set, he used chakra to augment his legs and rush Shino. He easily got within striking distance and began to barrage the Aburame with Gentle Fist strikes aimed at his chakra network. After he hit a couple dozen, he finished his assault with a powerful palm thrust to the sternum.

Unable to defend, Shino went down and was left on his back. Neji smirked down at him, deactivated his eyes with confidence. "Sorry, but this is reality. I tried to warn you, but only the blind fail to see what their destiny is; and yours was to lose to me."

Up in the stands, Hinata and Kiba both looked worried for their teammate, but Kurenai kept a cool expression. She knew that Shino was a great tactician for a Genin, so she didn't believe he would be taken down that easily.

And she was proven correct when "Shino" dissolved into countless bugs that immediately returned to the ground; leaving behind their deceased comrades that Neji had struck.

"What?!" the Hyuuga cried in surprise before he heard movement and turned just in time to get slugged in the jaw by a vicious right hook from Shino.

The hit stunned Neji, making him stumble and open for Shino to add in a lunging kick that struck him in the chest and sent him tumbling. The bug user looked down at Neji as he shakily stood up, fixing his glasses as he asked, "I'm confused; didn't fate tell you I'd use a Bug Clone? Wasn't it _destined_ that you'd see my deception and counter it?"

Neji growled at him, holding his chest while his Byakugan reactivated. "You dare mock me?! You wish to know why I believe in destiny so much?!"

What followed was Neji removing his headband, showing the Hyuuga Seal that he kept hidden away on his forehead. Following this was a revealing of the past from his perspective; of how his father was the younger twin of Hiashi Hyuuga, Head of the clan, and was forced to become a Branch Member; of how he (Neji) himself was destined to be a Branch Member because of his father's status, of how Hinata's attempted kidnapping ended up in Neji's father being used as a scapegoat that the Hidden Cloud believed to be Hiashi, allowing him to finally be free of his fate in death.

Hiashi, who was watching the matches from the stands, had his eyes closed to hide the shame he felt. Hanabi, his youngest daughter, looked surprised at the revelation her cousin had declared to the masses. With Hinata, she looked down in guilt while Kiba tried to comfort her.

The Jonin sensei, Tsume, Anko, and Hana all frowned at Neji's words. Some things – especially your opinions on said things – shouldn't be revealed to the public if they're so sensitive in nature. The other Leaf Genin were surprised while Sasuke didn't change his aloof look from his seat in the competitor booth. However, Naruto and Judy frowned at the "true" nature of the Hyuuga Council in regards to dealing with political issues.

Finally, behind his glasses, Shino narrowed his eyes.

"That's it?" he asked, shocking Neji with his tone. "You're angry because of the order you and Hinata's fathers were born in? You attempted to murder a member of your own family in cold blood for that petty a reason?"

Neji looked ready to kill the Aburame as he roared, "If my father was born first, he wouldn't have been used as a replacement for Hiashi! The man should've accepted his punishment and died, but instead he let his brother – my father – die in his place!"

"Then tell me this, Oh All-Seeing One: if she knew how to use that seal on your forehead the entire time, why didn't Hinata do it? Even when you attempted to murder her, and it took nearly all the Leaf Chunin and Jonin present for the preliminaries to hold you back, why did she do nothing and seemingly accept whatever you were going to do to her?!" Shino's voice raised as he actually showed an outward emotion publicly; anger. "Even considering you swore to keep your personal vendetta out of the fight and you did that anyway?!"

The crowd muttered at that. Some actually frowned at Neji. The Aburame had a point.

"Face it, Hyuuga-san; all you did was prove, in front of the Hokage no less, that the Side Branch of the Hyuuga Clan would cause unneeded death without that seal of yours to keep them in check!"

The members of the Side Branch of the Hyuuga all gasped, and some glared at Shino while others shook their fists at Neji threateningly. Sure, everyone with considerable ninja training in the stands knew what the Aburame was doing. After all, shinobi knew about and considered mind games an acceptable tactic. How could they _not_ recognize that mind games were what Shino was using? Especially considering that Neji's whole _revelation_ was what gave Shino the fuel needed to use Neji's anger to his advantage.

With that in mind, if anger towards what Shino was saying was going to be directed at anyone, it was Neji for giving the bug user this kind of information to work with in the first place. After all, Hinata was most definitely _not_ the type to go and explain about the Hyuuga Incident with the Hidden Cloud behind her cousin's back; and the Side Branch members all knew that! She more than _any_ Main Branch Hyuuga treated them fairly and actually _supported_ their wishes to remove their clan's seal!

"You…worthless little…" growled out Neji before, in blind rage, he rushed at Shino. Aiming for the kill, he struck the Aburame directly in the heart; but it was a ruse for a second Bug Clone to disperse and cover the Hyuuga in their swarm; draining him of his chakra while the real Shino stepped out from the shadows of one of the scarce trees in the arena.

Shaking his head as Neji desperately attempted to get the bugs off, the member of Team 8 spoke again, "Close-quarters against me is paramount to suicide. You'd think a prodigy would know that," Shino admonished.

Neji, having removed the remainder of the bugs with his Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation technique, glared at Shino yet again before his eyes widened in surprise. Beneath Shino's coat was a membrane of his beetles, all of them forming together to act as armor under his clothes. Furthermore, the prodigy saw his cousin's teammate smirk at him in a self-assured way. This strategy was a way to lock down the Gentle Fist, and they both knew it. As Neji watched, horrified, even more of the parasitic beetles within his enemy surged out of him, covering the ground in a veritable wave of scurrying, black-shelled bodies.

Neji cursed and ran up a wall of the stadium to avoid the bugs so he wouldn't be sucked dry of all his chakra, glaring as he watched the insect handler just stand there with his hands in his pockets, not moving from his starting position at all since the match had started.

"Hidden Jutsu: Insect Bog," Shino said, revealing the name of his technique. "As you can see, I've had my insects hide underground and multiply for the sake of this fight. Now then, Bug Clone Jutsu." At that, several geysers of the beetles rose as they climbed over themselves and one another, changing color as they did so, until they formed ten exact copies of Shino.

"What's wrong Hyuuga-san?" each of the clones echoed as one. "Surely if you're such an agent of Fate, it will deliver you an answer to triumph in this situation and under these circumstances."

Neji grunted in annoyance from his perch on the wall. Well…this was perfect. This was exactly the kind of situation that the three members of Team Guy who specialized in close-contact battles couldn't handle. As such, they often needed Tenten to save them with by backing them up with distance offensives. But she couldn't come to his rescue this time.

Going over his options, Neji tried to figure out a way to deal with the bugs, the clones, _and_ Shino in an effective manner. He was low on chakra, he had to get in close, and those bugs were relentless in siphoning his chakra when attached to him. The way he saw it, he was in fact _out of_ options.

 _'But why?'_ he desperately asked in his mind. _'Why am I losing when it was my fate to win?! It was my destiny to take down those bastards in the Main Branch; so why can't I take down this Aburame and fulfill my destiny?!'_

He grit his teeth in rage, angry at himself for not being strong enough while his mind betrayed him and showed him his past fight with Hinata. However, this time his mind made him focus on the expressions of regret, sadness, and guilt in his cousin's eyes as they fought: regret for the life he had lived, sadness for having to face him, and guilt for being given a "better life" in comparison to his own.

 _'Lady Hinata…'_ he thought, rage leaving in exchange for realization. _'You really were trying to help me, weren't you? And yet…all I did was bring you down…and try to kill you when you pointed out that I was betraying my own words; that I was fighting my_ own _fate… I see that now…'_

His eyes sought out his cousin, and he saw her sitting with her fellow graduates and the sensei of the teams. In but a moment, the two exchanged a silent conversation with their eyes. That moment was enough, for he saw that she had forgiven him and that she _still_ wanted nothing more than to help him.

Giving a ghost of a smile, Neji dropped to the ground and raised up his arm. "Proctor," he began, getting the attention of everyone, "I withdraw."

Genma smirked at that, showing the Hyuuga his approval as he gestured to Shino. "The winner of the first match; Shino Aburame!"

At that declaration, the spectators cheered and applauded for the bug user. However, one voice carried itself over the rest.

"Way to go, Shino!" Naruto cried as he clapped alongside Judy. While he would've wanted to see Neji beaten further, he could accept Shino winning this way. The way he saw it, Hinata's suffering had been slightly avenged, and he'd take that for the time being.

Shino recalled all of his insects before he walked back to the competitor booth, leaving Genma free to call down the next pair. "Alright, I need Sasuke Uchiha and Kankuro of the Hidden Sand to come down."

Before anyone could move, Kankuro called down, "Proctor, I forfeit my match!" Everyone was either surprised or suspicious of this, but the puppet user explained his forfeit. "My puppets won't last long against an Uchiha's fire jutsu. I'd rather not risk my only weapon being destroyed so carelessly."

While many of the spectating ninja accepted that reasoning, quite a few were a bit skeptical. Most puppet users were taught how to effectively use their puppets during disadvantaging moments; such as facing a fire style user. This early forfeit either showed Kankuro lacking faith in his own abilities…or something a bit more worrying.

As for Sasuke, he looked incredibly annoyed at being given such an easy win. He wanted to show off what Kakashi had taught him, and now he'd have to wait even longer to do so. Such an easy victory stung his pride a little.

"O…kay," Genma drawled out, annoyed at the sudden bout of booing and jeers that the spectators threw the Sand Genin's way. It was no secret that many paying officials wanted to see the Uchiha kid perform. "The winner by forfeit is Sasuke Uchiha. The third match will be between Gaara of the Desert," here, the jeering and boos were silenced in almost an instant, "and Naruto Uzumaki."

A stray jeer here and there were heard for Naruto, but he ignored them in favor of readying himself for the fight ahead. Making his way down via the stairs, he was surprised to see a couple of men seemingly waiting for him.

"Hey kid," the first began, "do us a favor and win, will ya? Our…employer would very much like to win with the bet he placed on you."

"So, try not to lose, yeah?" the second suggested before both men walked off, leaving Naruto and Judy alone on the stairs.

"Well…at least some people voted for you," Judy said in hopes of sounding optimistic.

Naruto said nothing as he resumed his walk and stepped out onto the arena. Spotting Gaara already waiting for him, Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat as he made his way over to him and Genma.

* * *

Unknown to him, his fellow graduates decided to speak with the Jonin and Chunin with them. "What's the Dead Last wearing?" Ino asked in surprise. "I thought he'd still be in that tacky suit of his."

Lee spoke up in his friend's defense. "Naruto figured out that he should dress more professionally in the presence of potential clients. He said that the Finals not only show off the skills of Genin, but how they act in and out of the field."

Kiba growled at the scent in the air. "What's with the rabbit smell coming off of him?" He then spotted Judy walking beside Naruto and laughed. "Oh, that's rich! He's got a little bunny to fight with him!"

His laughter was cut short by his mother bopping him roughly on the back of his head. "Don't underestimate them, pup. From what I've seen, she and Naruto make a good pair; and Hana could attest to that."

When the Genin turned to the Chunin girl, she just smirked. "I'd keep a close eye on this match if I were you brats."

Anko smirked as she shifted the empty dango stick in her mouth. "Well, let's hope that Blondie and Bunny Girl make a good impression."

"But what is she?" Tenten asked in confusion.

"If I had to guess," Choji Akamichi, who had arrived near the end of Shino's match, began, "I'd say that she's an animal companion like Akamaru is to Kiba."

"Close," Sakura said in response, looking closer at the rabbit next to her blonde teammate. "I'm leaning more towards a Summon Animal with how she stands and the uniform she's wearing. But when did Naruto get a Summoning Contract?! I read that they're ridiculously rare to find!"

"And what kind of summoning is a rabbit?" Ino continued.

Hinata was quiet as her fellow Genin conversed, but she had her hands clasped together. _'Naruto… Be careful,'_ she mentally pleaded.

Kakashi had his eye on Naruto and his companion. Both stood close to one another and had a similar stance, showing that they were relatively in synch with each other. However, his keen eye also saw that the leg warmers Naruto wore had a bulge here and there, showing weights similar to Lee being held in place.

"How much weight did you give Naruto during the month?" Kakashi asked suddenly, drawing attention from everyone else.

Guy simply smiled and said, "I gave him enough."

* * *

Up in the Kage viewing booth, Sarutobi and the Kazekage also gave their pre-fight input. "That Genin of yours is going to lose, Hokage. No one has been able to defeat Gaara; even my Jonin have trouble fighting him."

"Oh, I won't deny your son's skillset and power, Kazekage," replied Sarutobi. "But I wouldn't count out Naruto just yet. He's been known to surprise people pretty easily."

"Hmph. We'll see about that, Hokage."

* * *

"Alright then. Are you both ready?" Genma asked.

"Yes, sir," Naruto said in a low tone, not feeling as exuberant as he would usually feel at the moment.

"Hurry up and start this match," Gaara ordered as his brows furrowed to show his annoyance.

Genma scoffed at the order, but he had his job to do so he lowered is arm to begin the match before leaping away. After the starting signal, it was tense as both Genin stood across from each other and did nothing. Judy was ready to act whenever Naruto was ready, and she stood next to her partner with her legs slightly bent.

Naruto took a deep breath before shifting his body into a familiar stance with his legs straight, his left arm pressed against his back, and his right arm forward with the palm facing upwards. Gaara's eyes narrowed slightly at this, and just like in his match with Lee, he shot the cork on his gourd at the Uzumaki.

(Play " _Haikyuu!_ OST: Ue")

However, instead of catch it, Naruto flicked his wrist and smacked it aside before he rushed at his redheaded opponent. Judy responded to her partner's advance by jumping onto his back before kicking off, spinning high in midair with her feet skyward, eyes closed in preparation, and her paws holding senbon needles. In a near blur, Naruto had reach striking distance from Gaara and launched a punch that was immediately blocked by the redhead's automatic sand defense.

He then spun away from a tendril of sand that tried to grab him, flicking out a kunai from his holster and slicing away at the sand while staying on his toes. His eyes flicked upward, seeing Judy in position, before he coated the kunai in chakra and slashed directly at Gaara. The enhanced kunai cut away at Gaara's sand, leaving an opening big enough for Judy to flick her senbon at Gaara.

While senbon alone aren't necessarily deadly, combining them with a natural wind affinity like the one Judy has balances it out. And she used her affinity to her benefit by increasing the speed and piercing potential of the needles she threw at Gaara. With the opening stopping most of Gaara's resistance, they easily stabbed into Gaara and were able to pierce deep enough into his sand armor and puncture skin.

Gaara grunted at this, and his sand responded to his discomfort by shooting upwards toward Judy. When it got close, she disappeared in a burst of smoke and Naruto took her place. However, when he was pierced by the sand, he too disappeared in a burst of smoke, showing that he was just a Shadow Clone. The real Naruto and Judy were behind Gaara, with Naruto extending his leg and Judy balancing herself on it in a crouch.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Do it," she answered.

He nodded once before he spun on his balanced leg, gaining momentum before thrusting the leg that held Judy toward Gaara. Judy responded in kind by kicking off Naruto's leg, adding speed to her leap, before she rolled and had her own feet aimed at Gaara's back. She then began to spin in a corkscrew fashion while wind chakra was focused on her legs, producing a small cyclone.

"Maelstrom Kick!" she cried as her strike broke through the sand and struck Gaara, the blunt force making him stumble forward as she kicked off of him and landed perfectly on Naruto's shoulder as he threw a pair of white shuriken. The shuriken had black seals on them, but no one knew that but the two of them as Judy sent forth a Great Breakthrough to increase their speed.

"Release!" Naruto roared, holding up a ram seal when the shuriken got close enough to Gaara. The seals on the shuriken lit up before they both exploded like twin Bomb Tags.

(End Music)

The explosion was blocked by the sand, but it kicked up enough smoke and dust to enshroud Gaara and block his view. Naruto took this moment to leap back before leaping high up the arena wall, having to kick off the wall to get higher about halfway. Once he was at the top, he pulled off his leg warmers, revealing a pair of weights on each of his legs while Judy removed her own and sealed them away.

Kakashi narrowed his eye at this – and Sasuke narrowed his own as well – and wondered how much weight his student was removing. He and the other spectators saw the blonde teen stand up and casually let go of the weights, letting them fall to the ground below. As soon as they struck the ground, they both kicked up earth and dust due to the weight, acting like small explosions from the impacts points they made.

"It's like watching Lee all over again," Kakashi heard Sakura comment, and he couldn't help but agree with her; which concerned him. Lee's weights were a major focus of his training; over a year of dedication to them. Naruto only had a month of it by his calculation, and yet his weights were already close to Lee's own in mass.

(Play " _Naruto_ OST: Beautiful Green Beast")

"Alright, let's rock!" the crowd heard Naruto declare before he and Judy both disappeared in a blur.

At this point, Sasuke activated his Sharingan because he had lost track of Naruto as soon as he vanished. _'When did the loser get that fast?'_ he thought in shock.

When Naruto and Judy appeared, they were both on opposite sides of Gaara and lashed out at his sand with twin kicks. Gaara's eyes widened at the memory of Lee's inhuman speed during their fight, and he had his sand shoot out hardened Sand Shuriken every time he caught a glimpse of his opponent and his rabbit companion.

"Over here!" echoed Judy's voice, and he sent shuriken towards her, missing entirely.

"No, here!" Naruto's voice called out, making Gaara growl as he sent a wave of sand this time, but still hit nothing.

"RIGHT HERE!" both of them shouted as they struck home and hit him; Naruto with a knee to his stomach and Judy with a kick to the back of his head. The combined blows kicked Gaara off of his feet and caused him to flip once before landing roughly on his stomach. Meanwhile, both Naruto and Judy reappeared a few feet away, both of them sliding to a stop due to their excess momentum.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked. "Am I not going fast enough for ya?" He grinned brightly at Gaara giving him a death glare as he stumbled to his feet. "Just say the word and I'll go even faster!"

 _'Faster?'_ Kakashi and Sasuke both thought in slight shock. _'Is he wearing more weights?'_

Guy saw his rival's expression and chuckled quietly. He was enjoying how Kakashi witnessed what he missed out on in Naruto.

(End Music)

"Don't you dare mock me, Uzumaki!" roared Gaara as his sand stabbed into the ground beneath him. In multiple parts of the ground, cracks formed before sandy tendrils with claws broke through. "Now, make me feel alive!"

 _'Crap!'_ Naruto cursed as he and Judy were forced to stay on the move, avoiding sand claws that flew at them, swiped at them, and erupted from the ground. "Judy!" he called, jumping over a sand claw with his legs doing a near split.

"I know!" she called back, finding enough space to do her part. Strapped to her lower legs were two holsters, each holding ten senbon needles. These holsters allowed her to fire a senbon with a well-aimed kick, so long as she used wind chakra to propel it. With the room she had, she pulled off consecutive spinning kicks, launching a senbon empowered by sharp wind chakra with each kick.

The sand that defended Gaara this time, however, was thicker since it was reinforced with ground up earth from beneath them and the arena wall that was partially submerged. So, the senbon were stopped by the defense, even though the tips were able to poke through the sand veil. When Judy stopped her kicks, she barely leapt away from an arm of sand, but she ended up being led to an erupting sand tendril the grabbed her and flung her at Naruto.

"Judy!" he cried in alarm, catching her and being pushed back a bit from her momentum. With a grunt, he held onto her tight while she gave a small cry of pain, having been squeezed tightly by the crushing sand. As he held her, he looked up just in time to see a tremendous wave of sand heading for her.

"Sand Tsunami!" Gaara cried, hands clapped together as the sand picked up in front of him and rolled forward, much like the name implied.

Naruto glared hard at the sand wave, tucking Judy beneath his left arm while his right hand held up a half ram seal. "No choice then… Resistance Seal: Release!" he cried as the back of his orange top formed into a black butterfly shaped marking before shattering like glass. He then used his right hand to pull off his scarf and tossed it away, the heavy thud it produced showing that it too was weighted.

* * *

"Just how much weight did you make him wear?" Kakashi asked in growing shock.

"I'll admit that I was unaware of his Resistance Seals, but I knew about his leg weights and asked Tenten to make his scarf weighted," Guy answered.

"You told me it was for _your_ training though!" accused the weapons mistress.

"I had to lie so that Naruto's training would remain a secret; just like how you were helping Neji perfect his Rotation in secret," shot back the Jonin with a smile, and she blushed at the truth of his retort. "At any rate, Naruto's fast enough now to show one last hoorah before he ends the match."

"Tell me you didn't…" Kakashi pleaded, but it was in vain when he saw Guy regard him with a serious face.

"I helped him have a real chance to advance instead of brushing him aside, Kakashi. You lost any right to overview his training when you chose Sasuke over him."

The silver haired Jonin wanted to fire back, but he had nothing that would help him. So instead, he turned back to the match, making sure to have his Sharingan active to keep better track.

* * *

Forming a clone, Naruto handed Judy over to it before it leapt off to the top of the arena wall to keep her out of danger. When the wave finally crashed into him, no one heard a cry of pain or anguish from the blonde Uzumaki.

(Play " _Naruto_ OST: Rock Lee's Hidden Lotus")

Instead, they heard a shout of surprise come from Gaara when Naruto appeared in a blur of black and orange, striking Gaara in the face with a sharp left hook. He moved with his punch, going for a roundhouse kick before vanishing in another blur. When he reappeared, he completed his roundhouse and struck Gaara in the back of the head, disorienting him enough for four clones to come into view and simultaneously kick Gaara upwards into the air.

With chakra empowering their legs – and multiple kicks from the start – Gaara floated upwards with more ease than Lee's initial kick had in the Preliminaries. Naruto then had his clones jump up and kick the redheaded Genin a second time, sending him higher while the original Uzumaki appeared behind him with the Dancing Leaf Shadow technique. The spectators also all took note that Naruto's bandages on his arms had been loosened and floated beneath him and Gaara.

What many _didn't_ see – save for the more observant ninja – was that Naruto had two sealing tags in his hands. While he had his bandages wrap tightly around Gaara, he slammed the tags on the redhead and they both gave off a deep red glow. " Sealing Jutsu: Restraint Seal!" Naruto cried, and Gaara felt his body lock up involuntarily. "Here we go! This is my…" he began as he had them plummet to the ground headfirst, both of them in a high velocity spin that looked like a dropping cyclone to the masses, "PRIMARY LOTUS!"

With that battle cry came the impact, and it was intense. The arena was rocked by the force, and many rocks and patches of dirt were kicked up upon the landing while the sand that had tried to get to Gaara floated in midair without any form of direction or guidance. Many people tried to see through the cloud of smoke, dust, and sand for any sign of the two Genin.

(End Music)

Finally they saw movement, and it was the form of Naruto, body tucked in a crude ball as he back-flipped away from the impact zone and landed near the arena wall. As soon as he landed and slid to a stop, he groaned and fell to a knee as he tried to regain his breath. His face was dripping with sweat from the strain of the Gate of Opening, but he held off on using the Gate of Healing for the moment. He needed to see what Gaara would do first.

From the dying smoke, he saw that Gaara _had_ tried to replicate what he did against Lee when he used the  Hidden Lotus; having his gourd soften itself into sand to weaken the impact. It was effective to an extent; but because of the sealing tags Naruto had used in conjunction with the Lotus, it didn't get to dissolve fully. This was supported by Gaara weakly rolling his body onto his front while he had the sand tendrils help him to his feet.

"Dammit," Naruto cursed between breaths. "What does it take to beat this guy?"

To his discomfort, he heard chuckling come from Gaara; the kind of chuckling that came from someone not fully right in the head. The chuckling grew in volume before it became laughter. The laughter unnerved Naruto and made him increasingly nervous before his body's instinct to flee was barely held back when Gaara raised his head with an insane grin.

"Yes… Just like that one in green, you've actually managed to hurt me and question my existence," he said aloud, and Naruto forced himself to his feet through the fear he felt. "But unlike him, you won't live through your success."

Naruto was caught by surprise when he felt something wrap around his leg. Looking down, he was horrified to see that it was sand coming out of the ground behind him, and it quickly wrapped around him and pinned him to the arena wall. _'Shit! Gotta open the Second Gate!'_

He forced his body to open said Gate, but it wasn't enough to help him break through the encompassing sand. He struggled in vain before locking scared blue orbs with menacing green ones. "I'll enjoy feeding your blood to Mother," Gaara said as the sand began to squeeze him tight.

"Naruto!" cried many people, but it was Hana and Judy that were the loudest.

"Get out of there!" screamed Hana in panic.

"Let him go!" Judy yelled as she kicked off of her partner's clone and flew at Gaara in a desperate attempt to stop him. _'Why isn't Kurama helping him?!'_

"Now…DIE!" Gaara roared, as he closed his hand.

(Play " _Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood_ OST: Battle Scherzo")

However, with his roar came one from Naruto as he called on every ounce of his chakra and tried to expel it from his body. To his, and everyone else's shock, it worked; but not in the way he expected.

Instead of a surge of chakra, a heavy explosion erupted from the blonde Uzumaki, forcing the sand to expel from his body and shoot off in every direction. Judy was forced to use a Replacement Jutsu to avoid getting hit as she reappeared next to her partner.

"Naruto!" she cried in concern, taking note of his appearance.

He was breathing heavily, his top having been completely ripped off from the expulsion of sand and his explosive chakra. Down on one knee, he slowly regained his breath and forced himself to get back up on his feet. "I… I'm okay," he reassured her between pants. "I just… I don't…"

"Easy now," she urged him, helping him stand. "We need to stop this match before you get killed."

To her worry, he shook his head and actually _grinned_. "No… I think…I might have a shot now," he said in reply, voice growing stronger as he faced Gaara once again. Holding his right arm outward to his side, he clenched his fist and tensed his muscles, sending chakra through them and producing another brief explosion from his fist; much to everyone's surprise.

 _'It can't be,'_ Sarutobi thought in surprise, only knowing of _one_ village that produced the kind of chakra Naruto just used.

 _'That was…'_ Kakashi thought as well, eyes wide in vague memory of the _specific_ ninja capable of making chakra react like that.

Guy, however…

"YOSH! GO NARUTO, AND LET YOUR YOUTH _EXPLODE_ ONCE MORE!" he cried out, and this proved to be the spark need to get more of the spectators cheering for the blonde Genin.

"Go get him, kid!"

"Kick his ass, Blondie!"

"C'mon, Uzumaki!"

"You got this, Whiskers! Take that sand punk down!" Hana cried in conjunction with other fans, relieved and grinning at seeing that the young man she had bonded with over the past few weeks was alive and kicking.

Naruto's grin grew with every cheer, and he stood up taller and stronger as they each helped raise up his confidence. "Alright then, you bastard," he began before punching his fists together, having them give off a small flash. "Let's finish this off with a BANG!" (1)

(End Music)

* * *

 **1~ Think of Yang Xiao-Long from _RWBY_ when she slams her fists together in excitement. She always has a spark form when she does it.**

 **Tada! Chapter Three for you all on American Independence Day! Happy Fourth, my fellow Americans!**

 **At any rate, Naruto's bloodline has finally been revealed; the Explosion Style, which is a mix of Lightning Style and Earth Style chakra!**

 **In the next update, watch Naruto EXPLODE and face off against Gaara for Round Two!**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	4. Chapter 4: The End of the Chunin Exams

**Here's the fourth chapter coming at ya!**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **Naruto**_ **is owned by Kishimoto-sama while** _ **Zootopia**_ **is owned by Disney**

* * *

 _Usagi no Naruto_

 _Chapter Four: The End of the Chunin Exams_

* * *

Even though he was barely clothed and feeling the fatigue from the fight, Naruto was grinning with excitement as he stared down his opponent. The wind from the day brushed through his hair, making it move like yellow flames while the smoke from his awakened bloodline rose up from the battleground.

Standing next to him, Judy wasn't as excited. She had almost lost her best friend and partner, and it tore at her. When he had nearly been crushed to death, her heart felt equally crushed. But, when he exploded (quite literally) with life, she felt an incredible sense of relief that it only added to the weariness she had suffered from the fight.

"Naruto," she began, sounding concerned.

He looked down at her, still grinning. "Hey now, don't think like that," he admonished playfully, but she could tell he was also reassuring her. "I'm not gonna lose to this guy after everything we've thrown at him." Walking forward, she was left only to stare at his back and saw how he was standing tall and proud. "Have faith in me, Judy-chan…just like I have faith in you."

Her eyes widened at that, but she was left unable to say anything because he had the ground beneath him erupt, sending him blasting forward at high speed.

( _RWBY_ OST: "I May Fall" (1))

With a battle cry, Naruto shifted his body to move into a spinning kick that was predictably braced for by rising sand. This only made him smirk mentally because, as soon as his leg made contact, he expelled the unique chakra he felt made up his Explosion Style, making the sand blast away from him while he only suffered minimal loss of momentum.

Still spinning, he twisted his body to strike with a fierce punch to Gaara's face. The redhead was too surprised by the failure of his sand defense, leaving him ill prepared to mount a secondary form of defense against the blow. With another expulsion of his bloodline, Naruto's punch erupted into Gaara's sand armor, piercing it with little resistance and sending the Sand Genin back.

Gaara was sent tumbling across the ground while Naruto pressed his newfound advantage and rushed him, making his favorite handseal to create two clones to flank his sides. With a shared nod between his duplicates, the original jumped up slightly and landed the soles of his sandals on the fists of his clones. Both clones used their Explosion Style to send Naruto rocketing forward, and the real Naruto reared back his right hand, clenching it into a tight fist as visible chakra coated it.

* * *

Guy and Lee were cheering loudly for the blonde Uzumaki while the remaining Genin were left in silent shock at Naruto's combative display throughout the match. Even the other sensei were hard pressed to not respect how far Naruto had come along; even before the awakening of his apparent bloodline limit.

Hana, Anko, and Tsume were all sporting fanged grins at the whiskered Genin. Tsume felt some pride for him, but a great deal more for her daughter who had a hand in making the young teen become such a great combatant. Anko was grinning because she felt that the gaki, with his new gift, would be a great asset to a few of her more…questionable ideas. Plus, she felt a rising amount of respect for him at how well he was using his practiced skills in his fight.

As for Hana, she was just happy for Naruto; period. She knew he was dealt a bad hand, she knew he wasn't respected and constantly underestimated, and she knew that he wanted – more than anything – to be acknowledged as a fellow member of the Leaf Ninja Forces. And now, in front of many of his fellow villagers, visiting nobles, and foreign ninja, he was showing his worth; and by the amount of people yelling out their support, she knew that he had finally been acknowledged on this day.

 _'Naruto… You really will become a splendid ninja,'_ she thought as she watched his chakra-coated hand strike where Gaara was and cause a massive explosion that covered most of the stadium's field.

* * *

(End Music)

When he got close enough, Naruto was able to lock eyes with Gaara for a split-second. In that brief meeting of gazes, Naruto saw what could only amount to a mirror image of himself before he found friends and precious people; a lonely child, forced to carry a heavy burden and feared because of that burden. However, while Naruto had people who helped him move away from the lonely oblivion, Gaara had embraced that darkness and became the "monster" he was feared as.

After that moment, Naruto redirected his aim for the ground right in front of Gaara, exploding the ground and creating a massive smokescreen of dust and dirt that covered him and Gaara from sight. Within that cover, Naruto stood up and looked down at his fellow child of pain. Teal eyes expressed an emotion they hadn't shown for years; fear.

"Stay back!" Gaara cried, feeling afraid of this person who could so easily break through his defenses. "I won't be erased! You won't remove my existence!"

Blue eyes stared down at the redhead with painful understanding, and blonde locks swayed as the teen shook his head. "I don't want to erase you, Gaara… I know how you are feeling, and I want to help you."

"Help me…?" asked the surprised redhead. "Why wouldn't you want to attack me after what I did to that green one? Why would you want to help a monster who fights only for himself?"

"Because _I_ almost became that very monster too."

Gaara stilled in shock at that statement.

"Like you, I also carry something within me that makes others look on me in fear," explained Naruto, gripping where his seal was. "I was so sad…and angry that I wanted to make them go away and leave me alone. I almost gave into my pain…but I was able to stop myself when people saw me for who I really was." A sad smile formed on Naruto's face as he continued, "They saved me, and because of that I made a promise to do everything I could to keep them safe; so that I wouldn't lose the people who acknowledged me." Still smiling, Naruto crouched down and placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder, locking eyes with him. "You have people like that too, Gaara. Your brother and sister obviously care about you; I saw it during your fight with Lee."

Memories of times when Temari showed sincere concern and Kankuro acted in defense of him sprung up in Gaara's mind at the blonde's words. _'They…care?'_ he thought in shock, truly surprised that the siblings he had instilled fear into could feel that for him.

"Don't let yourself give into that loneliness anymore, Gaara. You still have people who worry about you," he then grinned and thumbed his chest with his free hand, "and I hope that someday…you and I could be really good friends." He saw Gaara stare at him as if he was crazy, and it only made Naruto grin wider. "I believe that you and I can truly understand one another, Gaara. I don't want to leave behind someone who shares my pain." Standing up, he offered a hand to the redhead just as the smoke cleared, revealing the two of them to the masses. "So…what do you say? Would you like to have me as a friend, Gaara of the Desert?"

The holder of the One-Tailed Beast looked to the offered hand before his eyes moved over to the competitor's booth. His eyes met those of his siblings and, with a much clearer head, he was able to see that they were truly concerned about him. He felt a strange, but very welcome, warmth in his heart as he turned back to Naruto's smiling face.

Slowly, he raised his hand up and grabbed the blonde's, being lifted to his feet as the remains of his sand moved back into his gourd. He kept his gaze firmly on Naruto's and the faintest of smiles made its way to his lips. "Yes… I would like that very much, Naruto Uzumaki." He then turned to Genma, said Jonin having recently landed on the heavily damaged field. "Proctor…I withdraw."

Stunned silence overtook the crowd while the senbon-chewing Jonin closed his eyes with an amused smile. _'Can't believe that kid actually won,'_ he mused before pointing an arm towards the Leaf Genin. "The winner of the third match…Naruto Uzumaki!"

Silence lingered before, up in the stands, Hana shouted out, "HELL YEAH!"

That proved to be the spark needed to set off a round of applause and cheer for the match and its winner. Naruto, stunned by the sheer level of praise, could only look to the spectators in shock. Never in his life did he ever expect to receive this kind of appreciation, and the moment becoming a reality left him unable to respond.

Up in the stands, many of the Genin were in equal shock at Naruto's win while the Jonin gave supportive smiles and respectfully clapped their hands for the Uzumaki. Kakashi, while clapping, sighed to himself at his falter. He had spurned a very promising young man because he wanted to go with a "guaranteed" pick that would've only required a minimal amount of effort. Instead of working with his other student, his own rival had taken the time and energy to mold Naruto from an inexperienced fighter to a respectable ninja of the Leaf Village.

Looking around, he saw that some of the nobles looked to the young Uzumaki with interest and appeal in their eyes. No doubt Naruto's victory would earn him some personally requested missions in the future; not to mention his display of skill, power, and ingenuity practically guaranteed him a promotion to Chunin.

 _'Naruto, you did excellently,'_ thought the scarecrow, giving the shocked boy his signature eye-smile. _'I hope you could forgive me for looking you over.'_

* * *

 _'I never thought that Gaara would be bested in battle; and by that boy,'_ thought Orochimaru under the guise of the Kazekage. _'A shame that I lost my trump card. Perhaps it would be best to cancel this operation since Gaara has obviously taken a shine to young Naruto.'_ Looking over to a nondescript ANBU member, the hidden snake made a hand gesture which earned a questioning one in response. He only nodded at the silent query, earning a nod in response. _'You get to live for a while longer, sensei. But don't think I'm through with your or the Leaf yet.'_

While internally he was slightly displeased at stopping his planned attack, he was still quite impressed with Naruto's performance; especially the awakening of the rare Explosion Style. Though, a part of him wondered how he had been able to acquire such a bloodline since it originated in the Land of Stone. He smirked amusedly, already knowing that researching the reason would be interesting to him.

* * *

When Baki got the signal for the cancelled attack, he was honestly unsurprised. With Gaara being beaten, and having willingly accepted that defeat – along with forging a new bond with the blonde boy – it was expected for the invasion to be seen as inopportune. However, the Sand Jonin made a mental note to speak with his village leader about possibly coming up with a more solid alliance with the Hidden Leaf.

After all, if their Jinchūriki had a new comrade from that village, it would be incredibly difficult to get him to attack his new comrade's home.

* * *

In the infirmary, Naruto rested his tired body on a bed after a medic had looked him over. He had been given a short-sleeved red shirt to cover his torso and a replacement pair of ninja sandals while he kept his pants; them having suffered the least amount of damage throughout his fight.

He had his leg warmers back on, along with his leg weights as well. While he would've loved to leave them off, he had made a training regimen with Guy-sensei, and he intended to continue it dutifully.

Judy was laid on his bed a well, her back resting against his side as she relaxed herself. "What a match, huh?" she asked him, earning a small chuckle from her friend. Smiling, she continued, "I'm proud of you, Naruto."

"What're you talking about?" he asked in response, giving her a smile in return. "You were with me all the way; so it's just as much _your_ victory as it is mine."

"I know…but I'm still proud of you. You were able to show just how great of a ninja you are to everyone." Her smile softened as she patted his arm. "You're an acknowledged ninja for sure now."

"Yeah… But, I couldn't have done it without Guy-sensei and Hana-senpai helping me get ready." He grinned at her warmly as he finished, "And I especially couldn't have done it without you, Judy-chan. Without you fighting with me, I doubt I would've lasted half as long as I did against Gaara."

She looked away bashfully, hiding her reddening cheeks from his view. "You would've been fine," she tried to say, but he shook his head.

"No, I wouldn't have. Not only am I glad you were fighting with me…I'm glad that I found your clan's scroll, I'm glad Rukia-baa-chan made you my partner…and I'm glad that I have you in my life, Judy-chan."

Still facing away from him, Judy was able to hide just how red her face was at his warm sincerity. She wasn't expecting him to say something so sweet to her, and she knew that he had meant every word of it. A smile formed on her face before she quickly turned around and hugged him tightly, catching Naruto by surprise.

"I'm glad I have you in my life too, Naruto-kun," she returned, her voice slightly muffled by his shirt.

He smiled at that and hugged her back, enjoying the moment he was sharing with his closest friend. Unknown to them both, Hana had heard it from the other side of the door, and she smiled happily for the both of them. She knew that the two of them would only grow closer through this, and she mentally swore to be there beside them as they moved on throughout their lives.

* * *

Following Naruto's victory was a rather long battle of strategy and wits between Shikamaru Nara of the Hidden Leaf and Temari of the Hidden Sand. Both Genin were sharp thinkers, and their minds were put to the test against one another throughout the battle.

The match proved to be the longest one yet, lasting just shy of a full hour before Shikamaru finally caught Temari in his _Shadow Possession Jutsu_. However, just when the spectators thought Shikamaru would take the victory, the lazy genius forfeited the match on the grounds that he had exhausted nearly all of his chakra reserves with his failed jutsu attempts.

While angry at how she won, Temari was still happy that she had made it to the semifinals of the Chunin Exams. However, given that her next opponent had beaten her brother – as well as changed him for the better (which she was _immensely_ grateful for since she had missed him dearly) – the future Wind Mistress of the Hidden Sand already made plans to concede victory to Naruto.

While she would've loved to have a go at him, she wanted to respect her little brother's newly formed friendship with her fellow blonde. But, she would be sure to challenge him to a spar sometime in the future.

For now, she would just relax and enjoy the final matches. After all, with the invasion cancelled, there was nothing to really worry about anymore.

* * *

By the time Naruto and Judy returned to from the infirmary, the small break between the first matches and the semifinals had ended. Shino was now scheduled to be facing Sasuke, and Naruto was honestly on the fence on who he believed would win. Both Genin were good – great, even – and they came from two respected clans of the Hidden Leaf.

But, that's where their similarities ended in his eyes. Where Sasuke focused on a mix of close and mid-range based combat, Shino was more focused on mid to long range. Sasuke incorporated taijutsu and ninjutsu in his style while Shino mainly used his bugs with a slight use of ninjutsu added in to enhance his prowess with them. Also, Sasuke had Fire Style under his belt while Shino had some basic knowledge of Earth Style and poison based techniques.

In a strategic sense, it was a front line combatant (Sasuke) against a saboteur (Shino).

 _'But then again, Sasuke never got a chance to show what he had learned from Kakashi,'_ mused Naruto, unknowingly approaching where his fellow Leaf Genin were sitting with their sensei, the Inuzuka women, and Anko.

Seated on his shoulder again, Judy saw that her friend was lost in thought, so she subtly helped him avoid bumping into people by gently moving his head in the directions he needed to go. After all, the head of anything determined where it went; even a human. No need to let him accidentally run into a wall, a seat, or a stranger.

"Naruto, my friend!" Lee called out with a wide smile, breaking the blonde Uzumaki from his thoughts and getting his attention. "You and Judy-san did excellently in your battle! Your Youth really showed itself throughout the fight!"

While both of the rabbit affiliates gave awkward chuckles at his exuberance, they were thankful for his support. "Thanks, Lee. I just hope Judy-chan and I can keep up the pace we've made."

"We're good for short bursts, after all," Judy added jokingly. "We don't have a dog's stamina."

"Damn right you don't," Hana teased as she moved over to them and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Still, great job out there, Kit (2). You too, Bunny Girl."

Judy had her ears drop while her nose twitched in annoyance at the nickname; but she said nothing. _'Gotta remember to plan a really SPECIAL prank for her with Naruto-kun.'_

"So, what was that back there when you exploded?" Choji asked curiously, snacking away on a bag of chips. "Did you learn that during the month?"

"Actually," began the blonde, "I have no idea where that came from. I think it might be a bloodline."

"It is," Kakashi clarified, earning the attention of the Genin. He held back a guilty look at seeing both Naruto and Judy giving him straight-faced stares. "That was known as the Explosion Style, which is a mix of Lightning and Earth Styles in tandem. The odd thing about that style though is that it originated in the Hidden Stone."

"And those guys have been butting heads with us for years," Asuma Sarutobi commented, stamping out his used up cigarette. "Even before Lord Fourth made himself Enemy #1 in their books, the Leaf and Stone have never really gotten along."

Kurenai hummed thoughtfully. "So, the question is how Naruto got that bloodline if their village is constantly against us…"

"It should be obvious," Tsume spoke up, looking a tad annoyed at how her fellow Jonin had to think it over. "Either a deserter of the village or an immigrant with the dormant bloodline left the Land of Stone, traveled to the Land of Fire, and became an ancestor of the pup's."

Naruto looked surprised at that. "A part of my family came from the Hidden Stone?"

"It's the best assumption we have to go off of, pup," Tsume answered. "The only thing to figure out is if it came from your mother's side or your father's." Her thoughts then turned inward. _'It must've come from Minato's side of his family. The Uzumaki were the Leaf's allies; making them a fellow enemy of the Hidden Stone.'_

Before anyone else could comment on it, Sakura called out excitedly, "Sasuke-kun's match is starting! Go, Sasuke-kun!"

"Go, Sasuke!" Ino cheered along with her before both of them glared heatedly at each other.

Tenten shook her head while resting it against her palm. "I can't believe I'm associated with them as kunoichi…"

She wasn't expecting an arm to wrap around her shoulders, or for that arm to belong to the violette Special Jonin. "Don't think about it too much, girly. You see, while they are so focused on impressing some boy, you've been focusing on your career. You'll be leagues ahead of them before the end of their first year of duty at this rate."

Hana plopped down in the other seat next to the bun-haired Weapons Mistress, grinning brightly. "The best part of this is that men will respect you more for being a supporting member of the village. Not to mention that strong women always have more appeal than _pretty girls_."

"And besides," Kurenai added with an amused smirk, "just because you'll be strong doesn't mean you can't also be a beautiful woman at the same time."

Tenten nodded in understanding, and she smiled at the pep talk the women gave her. "Thanks."

Guy had manly tears flowing at his female student getting out of her "funk" while Lee was surprisingly subdued. Instead, he had a thoughtful look on his face while his large eyes looked back and forth between Sakura, who he harbored a crush for, and Tenten, who had been a supportive female voice in his life.

Hinata, who had also been listening, wondered if a certain boy would notice her more if she was stronger. Self-doubt almost reared its ugly head for the umpteenth time in her life, but she was able to surprisingly quash it and focus on a new goal; prove herself to everyone so that _he_ would finally notice her.

Naruto saw that his fellow male Genin were more focused on the match below, not even listening to the conversation. He had his eyes closed and arms crossed as he mused, _'I wonder how strong mom was…and how she got dad to notice her.'_ Internally sighing, he was once again frustrated at not knowing what his parents looked like. If strong women were also beautiful, how beautiful was his mom? Shaking his head, a smile formed as he thought, _'I bet she looked like an angel. And even if she didn't, she was my mother and I'm proud to be her kid.'_

* * *

Down below, Sasuke was forced to keep his distance as clones of Shino charged at him; each of them made of dozens of chakra eating beetles. If even one of those clones broke apart close enough to him, he would be a victim of chakra siphoning in an instant.

Sasuke was proud – no one doubted that – and he held pride in his clan, his skills, and his power. However, two things stung that pride; his inferiority to his murderous brother, Itachi, and his average levels of chakra. While Uchiha held more chakra than most regular ninja, it was only by so much, and he knew he wouldn't last long against Shino's beetles; not like Naruto, who had proven time and again t having MASSIVE stores of chakra.

Kakashi had even supported that fact by saying that Naruto held chakra stores equivalent to a Kage already; even if he had poor control as the drawback. But still, Sasuke held wonder at what he could've had the potential to do if he had that amount chakra within him.

Going through handseals, Sasuke unleashed a barrage of small fireballs that targeted the clones while also pulling off a _Substitution Jutsu_ with the one closest to Shino. With the success of that, he was able to use his newly trained speed to close the gap between him and the Aburame.

 _'Right there!'_ he mentally cried as he used a quick burst of chakra to make himself go faster, appearing in a blur right behind Shino and aiming a rising kick at his head. When the blow landed, Sasuke smirked, but he lost it and retreated with a startled grunt when he saw that his target had only been a clone.

He frowned at this, knowing that his Sharingan should have saw right through a clone, but his dilemma was answered when he saw that one of the clones in the group now held Shino's natural chakra system.

"You aren't the only one who has training with the _Substitution_ ," the Aburame heir stated, fixing his shades. "So long as I have my beetles keep making themselves into clones," a clone formed right as he was saying this, returning the number of copies to five, "then I have plenty of chances to move away from your attacks. I don't even need to use my chakra to maintain the clones; only give the initial amount needed to start the jutsu."

Sasuke grit his teeth at that. He wasn't prepared for this. He had been so focused on Kankuro and Gaara (who Kakashi said was practically guaranteed to win against the loser) that he didn't think of the other participating Genin. _'Dammit,'_ he cursed. _'I was carless… I didn't expect the loser to win or for Neji to lose. He was the Rookie of the Year before me and is supposed to be a genius of the Gentle Fist while Gaara had an ultimate defense. Why did those two win when the odds were against them?'_

"You can prolong the match as long as you wish, Uchiha-san; but in the end you won't win." Resting his hands in his coat pockets, Shino continued, "I don't usually prefer to point out these kinds of situations since it makes me come off as arrogant. But, surely you can see the outcome as well, can you not?" Shaded eyes met red ones as he finished, "You're a skilled Genin, Uchiha-san, but you didn't plan ahead this time."

Sasuke was tempted to pull out his trump card, but he caught Kakashi's gaze and saw the man shake his head; as if he _knew_ what he was thinking of doing. Grunting in frustration, he tried to think of a way to turn the tides in his favor.

* * *

"Looks like the prick's in a bind," commented Kiba with a grin. "Just goes to show that he's not as tough as he says he is."

Sakura took offense to that and shouted, "At least he made it to the finals and didn't get farted on!"

Stifled snickers and giggles came from her outburst while Kiba went red in embarrassed rage. He would've snapped at her, but someone else cut him off.

"I'm sorry about that," Naruto apologized, getting Kiba's attention; as well as the others. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I guess I just overdid it and my body reacted." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, giving off a guilty smile at the same time. "No hard feelings, Kiba?"

The Inuzuka scowled at Naruto and almost told him to forget it, but Akamaru gave off a small whine. When he turned to his partner, the little ninken gave off a bark before jerking his head to Naruto and Judy. Kiba didn't look to be a fan of the idea, but he relented with a heavy sigh. Turning away with a scoff, he said, "Yeah, yeah… No hard feelings."

Naruto grinned at that before returning his attention to the match. Beside him, Kakashi looked down at the Uzumaki, regret in his visible eye. He missed a real gem with his student, instead letting someone else awaken that raw potential he had inside of him. Idly, he wondered what would've been different if he gave Naruto the attention he needed.

* * *

An idea finally came to Sasuke and he pulled out every smoke bomb he had in his ninja pouch before throwing them in spaced locations; enough to almost cover the entire stadium field. Using the cover of smoke, Sasuke then pulled out his ninja wire and some kunai knives while using his Sharingan to measure how long each piece of wire would need to be cut for his plan.

Once the wire was cut into proper pieces, he tied them to separate kunai and then tossed them all at various points in the arena walls that surrounded him and Shino; making his location be the epicenter of his next technique. He took the ends of wire that he still had beside him and quickly tied them together, wincing when they cut lightly into his skin.

As soon as he finished, the smokescreen cleared and there were only five copies of Shino that were seen; meaning that either the original found a hiding spot, or he was trying to make another feint to use against Sasuke. Deciding not to dwell on it – especially since he was already this far into his plan – Sasuke held the tied wires between his teeth and went through the necessary seals for one of his strongest jutsu.

" _Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu_!" From his mouth, fire erupted and caught the wires aflame, sending the fire down their lines and making the view from above look like a flaming spider's web. He then took out one last kunai and had it anchor the tied wire ends to the ground while he saw the clones react naturally to the fires. He frowned when he saw that Shino wasn't among them and used his eyes to try and find him.

Unfortunately…

"ARGH!" Sasuke gave off a startled cry as a hand broke through from the earth and grabbed his ankle in a vice-like grip.

"I have you now," came Shino's voice from beneath the ground before, in a manner almost exactly like how Kakashi had done, the hand dragged Sasuke into the earth up to his neck and trapped him. In front of Sasuke, Shino made another break in the ground and climbed out of it; though he looked winded. "It took more chakra than I hoped to use, but I'm pleased that I was able to successful utilize my _Headhunter Jutsu_. I'm impressed with your attempt to flush me out, but you let me have my own opportunity to win when you made that smokescreen." Crouching down, Shino held a kunai to the neck of Sasuke as the Uchiha practically sneered at him in growing rage. "You have lost, Uchiha-san."

Landing beside them, Genma called out, "The winner of the first semifinal match is Shino Aburame!"

Many supporters of Sasuke in the stands groaned at the Uchiha's loss; the most vocal of them being the ones who placed such heavy bets on his victory. The rest of the spectators applauded the Aburame heir's triumph, impressed with how he baited Sasuke and turned his own plan against him.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun…lost?" Sakura asked in shock, and Ino was no better. In fact, the blonde kunoichi couldn't even speak through her surprise.

Kiba was cheering loudly for his teammate while Hinata and Kurenai clapped and smiled warmly. Asuma and Guy also applauded the Aburame while both Choji and Lee gave supportive smiles. Kakashi looked only slightly surprised, but he dropped it for his regular lazy look.

"I suppose I didn't train him enough to handle someone like Shino," he mused aloud. "Oh well. There are winners and losers for everything, and he could only get stronger from this loss, after all."

"All too true, my youthful rival!" agreed Guy with his signature grin and thumbs-up.

With Judy and Naruto, the rabbit girl asked, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that Shino really proved himself," Naruto answered with a smile. "Sasuke is tough – I won't deny that – and Shino showed himself to be tougher. He definitely earned that win."

Judy smiled back and nodded before she said, "You face that fan user next. Any ideas?"

"I'll probably just out-speed her and try to make her lose her fan. That seems to be her main source for combat, after all." He shrugged with a grin and added, "I was never one to plan ahead. Like Guy-sensei said, I work best on the fly."

"True," agreed Judy and the two shared a small laugh before they heard his match be announced. However…

"Proctor, I forfeit!" Temari's voice was heard from the competitor's booth. "I used too much chakra in my last match and I've seen enough of Uzumaki-san to know that I can't win."

Both Naruto and Judy blinked, the two of them at a loss for words at the unexpected declaration. "Did… Did I just get moved up to the finals?"

"I…think so?" Judy answered, still thrown for a loop.

Down below, Genma had to give the Sand kunoichi a nod for her reasoning. It was sound and she knew when the situation was too much; just like a Chunin would be expected to do. So, with that, he called out, "The final match then will start immediately! Shino Aburame and Naruto Uzumaki, come down here!"

* * *

 _'The boy will win this one,'_ Orochimaru mused assuredly. _'While Sasuke is unable to handle multiple opponents, let alone chakra beetles, the Uzumaki boy has his own clones and plenty of chakra.'_ His disguised eyes looked down to the Aburame, seeing his body slouched slightly from fatigue. This made him smirk. _'The Aburame boy is also on his last legs while Naruto looks fresh. Just goes to show how impressive an Uzumaki's body is. A shame I couldn't mark him as well. His chakra stores, natural healing, AND the Explosion Style? It's far too tempting.'_ He sighed in disappointment. _'What a waste to be serving a place like this…'_

* * *

"Are the two of you ready?" Genma asked.

"Ready to go," Naruto answered with an excited grin while Judy nodded from his shoulder.

When the Jonin turned to Shino, the Aburame was silent for a few moments. This made him repeat the question. "Are you ready, Aburame-san?"

Shino took a breath, still feeling worn from his previous battles. Raising his gaze to Genma's, he shook his head and answered, "No, I'm not ready for this, proctor. I've exhausted myself too much throughout these matches. I concede to Uzumaki-san."

Naruto gave a small gasp of shock while Judy's own eyes widened. Throughout the audience, everyone looked on in surprise at the declaration of defeat; one made before the match even started.

Up in the Kage Booth, Orochimaru smirked behind his veil while Sarutobi just smiled proudly at Naruto. _'You actually won, my boy. Your parents would be so proud of you.'_

"In that case, the winner of the final match, and the Chunin Exam's Combat Stage, is Naruto Uzumaki!" declared Genma.

That statement was enough to make Naruto grin wider than ever before he leapt up and gave a loud cheer. That cheer spurned others to join in, and soon most of the stadium was applauding for the Uzumaki boy. The loudest of them were Guy and Lee, the Inuzuka women, and Anko (who had placed a huge bet on Naruto after his first match).

The other Genin were left in shock at this, along with the other sensei, while Sasuke seethed in jealousy. _'Why…? Why did he win? He's supposed to be a loser! He couldn't even get Kakashi to train him, and yet he was able to beat Gaara and then just become the winner by forfeit?! Why?!'_

The jealousy he felt made his Curse Mark pulse, and as it did, Orochimaru only smirked wider in his seat. Stopping himself from chuckling, he thought, _'Soon Sasuke…you will be mine.'_

* * *

 **1~ This is a nod to when Velvet Scarlatina showed what she was really capable of in _RWBY_. This was the song that played when it showed just how much of a badass she is!**

 **2~ Rabbit younglings are called kittens or kits, just like cats and foxes**

 **And there's the end of the Chunin Exams! Naruto has become the winner, and all he had to do was beat Gaara and offer him a genuine friendship (just like in canon)!**

 **The end might've been anticlimactic, but a part of me REALLY believes that how it should've happened for this. Sasuke is good for a Genin, but I feel Shino is more levelheaded and could come up with a workable strategy against him. That's why I had him win against Sasuke.**

 **I can also see Temari respecting her reformed brother's new friendship by helping said new friend. Plus, she really did get worn out by Shikamaru since their match was, in fact, the longest one of the finals. So that's why she forfeited.**

 **And then Shino forfeited because he couldn't recover enough for the final match. Naruto can bounce back quickly; proven MULTIPLE times throughout the series. So, that's why Naruto was given the victory!**

 **I hope my reasons make sense to you all!**

 **One final thing: this story will have elements from both _Bleach_ and _RWBY_ thrown in. There will be a couple of characters, techniques, and/or weapons from those series thrown into this story. This is me giving you all a heads up! *grins mischievously***

 **pain17ification**


	5. Chapter 5: The More Things Change

**Fifth chapter coming at ya!**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **pain17ification**_ **does not own** _ **Naruto**_ **,** _ **Zootopia**_ **,** _ **Bleach**_ **, or** _ **RWBY**_

* * *

 _Usagi no Naruto_

 _Chapter Five: The More Things Change_

* * *

Standing face to face with his newest friend, Naruto grinned brightly at Gaara who had a faint smile on his face in response. "Take care of yourself, Gaara," the blonde Uzumaki bid, offering a hand to the redhead. On his shoulder was Judy, having grown comfortable perching herself there.

The Jinchūriki of the Hidden Sand stared at the hand and hesitated for a brief moment before he slowly raised his own hand and shook it with Naruto's. "You as well, Naruto Uzumaki," he returned before turning his gaze to the Usagi. "I apologize for my actions during our match."

She waved him off. "Water under the bridge. Just make sure to show your village that you're better than what they fear you for; like Naruto did."

He nodded and turned away, walking out the village gates to link up with his sensei and siblings. Before they leapt off, Temari called out to her fellow blonde, "Don't think I'm just gonna give you the win next time, Whiskers! We'll have our match one day!"

He grinned brightly and replied, "Looking forward to it, Fan Girl!"

She smirked back and gave him a friendly wave before she and her team left. With the goodbyes done, Judy spoke up, "Don't forget that the Hokage wanted to see you today along with the other Leaf finalists."

"Right. I'll head to the tower now," he said, turning around and leaping to the rooftops to get there quicker. As he traveled, he asked his partner, "So, did you talk with Rukia-baa-chan about the Chunin Finals?"

"Not yet. I wanted to see if you were promoted first before I gave her a full report. I'm sure she'll be happy with our efforts, promotion or not."

He nodded at her words. "Yeah… The Usagi Clan should be recognized by this point. You were a big part of my match, after all."

"It'll be your clan too soon enough," she assured, smiling at him. "With everything you've done, I'm sure grandmother will make you a full-fledged member."

A smile grew on his face at that thought. "I'd like that…"

* * *

"First off," began Sarutobi with a smile directed at the five Genin in front of him, "I wanted to congratulate you all on your performances in the Finals; as well as _making it_ to said Finals. You should all feel proud of your accomplishments." Only one of the five boys smiled, and it was the one that was least expected to have done so well. "Now, unfortunately not all of you will be promoted to Chunin status. But, you're just about ready for the advancement from what I can see in the reports your Jonin sensei gave to me."

Said teachers gave supportive smiles to their students, as well as the Genin they didn't have the pleasure to teach.

"First, because of your use of tactics in both of your matches, as well as your impressive level of understanding towards situational changes, I promote Shino Aburame to the rank of Chunin." He handed the young heir a scroll that was on his desk; one of three. "Congratulations, young man."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage," responded the bug user with a respectful bow before he stepped back in line. When he saw his sensei smiling at him in pride, he returned it with a slight twitch of his lips. He knew she noticed, for her smile brightened just a bit.

"Next, for your incredible intellect, forward thinking, and situational awareness, I promote Shikamaru Nara to the rank of Chunin," continued the Hokage, giving the lazy genius the second scroll. "Congratulations."

"Troublesome," he sighed out, taking the scroll. "This means more responsibilities and duties, doesn't it?" When both Sarutobi men – the Hokage and Asuma – nodded with amused looks, he sighed and muttered his famous catchphrase once more before returning to the lineup.

"And lastly, for your battle planning, determination, teamwork, and ability to fight the odds – even if we only saw you take part in one match – I promote Naruto Uzumaki to the rank of Chunin." The three remaining Genin all looked surprised at the outcome, though Naruto quickly smiled brightly and took the scroll. "Well done, Naruto. And congratulations on winning the tournament."

"Thanks!" he replied, but his heightened hearing heard someone clear their throat. Getting the message, he cleared his own and bowed respectfully as he revised his statement. "I mean, thank you for this promotion, Lord Hokage."

The old man smiled at the rare moment of Naruto being respectful, giving a nod to the Inuzuka Chunin that was in the room with the other ninja under his command. "With the topic of promotions at hand, I also wanted to let you know, Hana-san, that I've decided to promote you to the rank of Special Jonin."

She looked surprised at the news while Kurenai and Guy both smiled at her. "I'm honored sir; but may I ask why?"

"Well, it's fairly obvious that you had a fair hand in regards to Naruto's training during the month; mainly towards his collaboration training with his Summon Partner sitting on his shoulder." The Hokage gestured to Judy, who gave the man a salute. Nodding back, and putting Judy at ease, he continued, "Because of your efforts, a Genin was able to move past his limitations and show skills prudent to one of Chunin status. Also, Guy," said Jonin perked up, "I wanted to give you recognition in your personal training of Naruto, as well. You've shown yourself to be a very successful instructor with both your team and a _dark horse_ choice. Well done."

"Yosh! It was my pleasure, sir," replied the man with his Nice Guy pose. "I enjoyed every moment training young Naruto, and I hope to continue in his regiment so that his Youth could burn continuously."

"Granted," the Hokage said immediately, ignoring Guy's exuberance since the man proved himself an invaluable member of the Hidden Leaf. "Kakashi, Asuma, you both also did well with your students over the past few months since you became their sensei."

He noted that Kakashi held a look of shame and guilt when the masked Jonin turned his gaze to the blonde Uzumaki. This only made his plans for the Jonin's team all the more necessary; especially with the request he had received earlier that day.

"They both showed great potential during the Finals," he continued as both Jonin nodded. "Kurenai, while you didn't have a major role in Shino's training for the Finals," she was disheartened at that, but hid it well, "you still did excellently as his sensei and the leader of Team 8."

She smiled gratefully at the praise, and he was relieved that she wasn't doubting her abilities; especially since this was her first Genin Squad. "You're too kind, Lord Hokage," she replied, bowing respectfully.

"And lastly, Sasuke and Neji… You both show promise; not to mention incredible levels of skill as ninja. But, you're just not there yet in terms of Chunin status. Neji," the Hyuuga straightened his stance at his leader, "you've let your emotions concerning your past cloud your judgement, as well as make you somewhat arrogant in terms of skill. You need to take care of your personal issues soon; or put them aside during your time as a ninja of this village."

"I'll work on my behavior, sir," the Genin promised with a bow. "I also plan to make amends with Lady Hinata and Lord Hiashi concerning my actions and attitude towards them over the past."

The old man nodded once, but it was firm and had the message for Neji to get it done. "Sasuke, you show great potential; just like when you graduated from the Academy." The Uchiha smirked at that, but it fell when the Hokage continued. "However, your pride has gotten the better of you on more than one occasion. Not to mention that your emotions are on a hair trigger; easily directing your actions and making you easy to manipulate. You must learn restraint, level thinking, and strategizing in order to show me that you're ready for the next level. Am I clear?"

Sasuke scowled at his flaws being thrust in his face, but he caught the eye of his sensei. The one-eyed Jonin gave him a stern look, which made him click his teeth and turn back to the Hokage. "Yes, sir," he said, his tone showing great displeasure, but reluctant obedience.

"Alright then. I'd like everyone but Team 7 and Hana-san to be dismissed. Guy, please let Sakura-san know that she's allowed inside my office."

The green-clad Jonin nodded as he left with the others, leaving the four ninja told to stay with the Hokage. After a moment, the door opened and Sakura stepped inside. She gave a bow to the Hokage before taking her position between Sasuke and Naruto in front of Kakashi. Hana took a position directly behind Naruto, taking a brief moment to ruffle his hair affectionately, which made him wave her hand off while Sarutobi smiled at their antics.

"I don't want to hold things off longer than necessary, so I'll just be blunt. As of this moment, Team 7 is to be disbanded," stated the Hokage, his face one of absolute seriousness.

Team 7 all looked shocked at that while Hana and Judy held neutral expressions. "Sir, are you sure that such a drastic change is necessary?" Kakashi asked. "I know that Naruto's promotion will cut into his time with us, but-"

"Naruto's promotion is only a part of why I've made this decision," Sarutobi cut in, ignoring the stupefied look on Sakura's face at Naruto's success. "The fact of the matter is that Team 7 is severely lacking in terms of functionality. Kakashi, you have little experience in teaching Genin; being more attuned to being a Squad Leader than an instructor. This makes it painfully obvious to see that you haven't put much time into helping your students grow."

Kakashi winced at that, but he knew that it was true. He was good at leading; but instructing was unfamiliar territory to him.

"I have decided to heed the advice of one of my personal Councilmen in regards to one student of yours. For another, I'll be approving the request that Hana-san petitioned to me earlier this morning. And for the last, I'm going to send them to an instructor who will help them improve their natural growth path in terms of ninja career."

Team 7 was a mix of confused, concerned, and curious at the man's words. Before they could ask though, the Hokage's office door opened once again and an elderly man who had a large amount of bandages, some scars, and a cane walked in. Giving the Hokage a nod in both greeting and respect, the man spoke, "I hope I wasn't too late."

"Not at all, Danzo," Sarutobi replied, gesturing for his old teammate to stand by his side at the desk. "Heeding the advice of my old colleague, it has been decided that Sasuke Uchiha will be apprenticed to you, Kakashi."

"Apprenticed?" the Jonin repeated, his tone one of slight shock.

"Yes," Danzo answered. "Seeing as how you're the best choice in terms of teaching him how to better use his Sharingan, as well as improve his natural Lightning Style affinity, it was an obvious decision to have you focus your efforts on Uchiha-san."

"As for Sakura-san," continued Sarutobi, "she will be placed under the care of the Medic Corps. With her impressive level of control, her studious nature, and the fact that she's almost a clean slate in terms of direction, it was decided that the best choice for her would be learning how to become a Medical Kunoichi. Unohana-san will oversee her instruction."

"You won't find anyone better to teach you about medical training; except for Lady Tsunade," Hana commented, but quickly realized that she had spoken out of turn in front of her Hokage and an Elder Councilman. "Forgive me, sirs."

"No need for that, Inuzuka-san," Danzo replied. "Your analysis was spot on, and it helped clarify for young Haruno-san here."

Sakura looked questioningly to her Hokage, and the man smiled at her gently. Taking that as permission, she asked, "Is medical training really the best option for me, Lord Hokage?"

"That or genjutsu training. Your chakra control is very precise, which will allow you to flourish in both fields since that skill is a major necessity. If you'd like, I could ask if Kurenai-san would be willing to help your genjutsu studies while you are instructed by Unohana-san."

The pinkette took a moment to think it over before she nodded in acceptance. "I would appreciate that, sir. And I'll be sure to try my best in both studies."

The Hokage smiled at her once again while Danzo gave a short nod. Naruto then spoke up. "So, what does that mean for me and Hana-senpai?"

"May I, Lord Hokage?" Hana cut in, making sure to be respectfully tact this time. Once the man nodded, she turned to the new Chunin and elaborated for him. "I put in a request earlier today in regards to you, Bunny Boy." She smirked at the twitching brows both he and Judy had. "Basically, I asked to take over your training for the foreseeable future."

"So…an apprenticeship like how Sasuke is for Kakashi-sensei?"

"Pretty much. But to be more specific, you and me – in addition to our animal partners – will become out own squad with myself taking the role of Squad Leader. We'll take on missions together while I improve your training alongside Guy. Also, considering what your affinities are, this makes us two of the best people to instruct you."

Naruto looked thoughtful at that, but Danzo saw that he had another question in mind; so he spoke up before the blonde could. "Because your bloodline is a mix of Lightning and Earth Styles, you need instructors to teach you how to utilize both elements separately. You have a solid grasp on using them both in sync, based on your performance in the finals."

"Guy has shown to have an Earth affinity in the past while I have a natural Lightning affinity," continued Hana. "Admittedly, I have only trained in the basics and a few jutsu; but I can help you start it yourself."

"And since Kakashi has Sasuke as his apprentice, he wouldn't be able to teach me," deduced Naruto, making Hana, Sarutobi, and Danzo nod while Kakashi hid the regret in his eye. "Alright then! I can't wait to get started, senpai!"

"If I may add something?" Judy spoke up, which the Hokage nodded in acceptance. "Naruto-kun and I still need to speak with my grandmother, who is Head of the Usagi Clan. There could be the opportunity for him to receive a deeper level of instruction from us since he is our only summoner."

"Understandable," Sarutobi replied. "Just make sure that Hana and Guy are informed if and when such instruction will take place."

"Will Uzumaki-san be taking your clan name?" Danzo queried.

"It has a good chance of being offered to him," Judy answered. "Is that a concern?"

"Not at all. Merely something an old man is curious about," Danzo clarified, though half of the room's occupants grew concerned at the vague response. "Well, I believe that everything has been cleared up, right Hiruzen?"

"Just about. Everyone but Kakashi can go now. Sakura-san, report to the Village Hospital on the western side in two days at 8 AM," the Hokage informed.

"I will, sir," Sakura replied with a bow before she walked out of the office.

"Sasuke, meet me at the Training Grounds we used during the month tomorrow morning. Same time as always," Kakashi instructed his new apprentice. He fought a sigh at the grunt the Uchiha gave in response as he left. Catching Naruto, Judy, and Hana about to leave, he added, "Naruto, I was hoping for a chance to talk to you later. If that's alright with you?"

Naruto stopped and fought a frown, but a look from Hana made him take a moment to consider. Sighing, he replied, "I'll be at my apartment for the rest of the day. You can come over when you're done, Kakashi."

The man nodded, a bit disheartened at not being able to be called sensei again. Left alone with his two superiors, he waited for them to speak. Sarutobi was first. "Be sure to handle this new assignment with care, Kakashi. Sasuke is still a concern for us due to his Curse Mark."

"But I sealed it, sir," retorted the Jonin.

"With a seal that is dependent on his ability to deny its call," shot down Danzo. "He's no doubt had a taste of its power, and that's all it really takes for it to tempt him. Mitarashi-san, even with her very impressive willpower, is still tempted by her own seal on occasion; and her seal is a prototype of the one the Uchiha has on his shoulder."

"Whenever my old student is associated with something, it's always a cause for concern. Be sure to keep a close eye on Sasuke, and try to instill in him a reason to stay in the Leaf," the Hokage ordered. "With his need for vengeance against Itachi and Orochimaru marking him, this makes him a high-chance flight risk. If that happens, we will do what we can to retrieve him; but an execution order will be made if it proves fruitless."

Kakashi was worried now. The grim face on his Hokage, alongside the stoic professionalism that Danzo showed, was too much to brush aside. He really needed to step up his game, or else one of the last members of the Uchiha could be executed.

"If you feel that you're having greater difficulty handling your new protégé in the future," Danzo spoke up, catching Kakashi's attention, "then bring him to me. I'll make sure to take care of any issues he may be having or _causing_."

The Jonin was even more concerned at that and turned to the Hokage. The man's firm look and nod showed that this option was a definite one if things became close to the breaking point. "I have already agreed to let Danzo take care of Sasuke if he proves to be a bigger risk than we can handle. The other Elders have also agreed with this decision."

That solidified it for Kakashi. He would need to take things much more seriously from now on. _'Time to stop wallowing in the past, then,'_ he mused, nodding firmly to both Elders. "Understood, sir. I'll make sure to keep Sasuke here in the Leaf; no matter what."

Both men nodded to the Jonin, and the Copycat Ninja was dismissed.

* * *

"I'll never get over how nice this place is," mused Naruto out loud as he walked alongside Judy. The two were walking down a dirt road that perfectly split two equally stunning fields that had scattered homes here and there.

On their left, the field held sectioned off areas for crops and other products that the members of the Usagi Clan proudly farmed and grew. On the right, the field had taller grass that was decorated with variously colored flowers, making it seem like scenery out of a painting or something just as beautiful.

Judy smiled at his compliment to her home, waving to her fellow clansmen/family members. "I'm glad you think so highly of this place. You could view it as a second home if you ever need one," she offered.

"I might if I ever feel the need to get away from everything," he admitted, waving like Judy was as they approached a single story home that had a more traditional design to it. Making sure to be respectful, the Uzumaki took off his sandals and wiped his bare feet on the rug in front of the sliding front door.

Judy wiped her feet as well before she opened the door, calling out, "Grandmother? I've brought Naruto-kun!"

"Be right with you," a slightly elderly voice replied before a woman stepped out from another room.

She was rather short, being just a few inches taller than Naruto (who still had plenty of growth left in him). She had black hair that was cut at the neckline and slightly bobbed in style, with a single thick bang resting between her violet eyes. On top of her head and rooting into her hair was a pair of stormy gray rabbit ears that curled downward near the tips. She wore a traditional kimono that was snowy white in color with a light purple obi that was tied in a neat bow at the back.

Smiling at her grandchild and the human with her, she gestured to the two couches in her home. "Come, let's have a seat while we discuss." She took one of the couches while her guests took the other, and she smiled just a fraction wider when she saw that her granddaughter was sitting closer to her partner than the last time she saw them. "So, I take it that things went well? You both seem rather pleased."

They both nodded, Judy smiling warmly at her while Naruto grinned brightly. "Yes, Naruto-kun and I performed very well in the Finals. While we only took part in one match, I noticed that it was the match that had the most meaning in these exams."

"How so?" Rukia asked, looking intrigued.

Naruto answered her, "We faced a fellow Jinchūriki in our match. Gaara, from the Hidden Sand, is the holder of the Ichibi. While we both had rough upbringings, he embraced the pain he was given instead of finding people to help him like how Judy-chan and others were there for me."

 _'So it isn't just my grandchild that feels fonder for Naruto,'_ noted the elder Usagi with a smile.

"Thanks to the training that we received from Guy-san and Hana-san, who I spoke to you about before," Judy continued, with Rukia nodding in confirmation, "Naruto-kun and I were relatively ready for the Finals. We pulled out all the stops against him, and things went downhill for a moment near the end with both of us almost ending up in dangerous situations."

"You say almost. What prevented them from fully happening?" Rukia asked.

"For me, it was because Naruto-kun was there to bail me out. I realize that I need to really step up my training so that we don't end up in too many of those close calls. As for Naruto, he was almost killed by Gaara's sand. I think that Kurama-san-"

"Who?" cut in Rukia.

"It's the name of the Kyuubi that I hold," clarified Naruto. "Basically, I might've been saved from being crushed to death by Kurama's chakra if I didn't awaken my latent bloodline."

"Naruto-kun possessed the Explosion Style bloodline, grandmother. With it, he can make his chakra combust and detonate at pointblank range from his hands, feet, or even his whole body at once; though the last one looked like it had some serious recoil on him," Judy continued, both women noting how Naruto cringed at the memory of first using his bloodline.

"According to Kakashi, my old sensei, the Explosion Style consists of Lightning and Earth Style chakra natures. It was because of me using this that I was able to wear down Gaara enough for me to talk some sense into him. I helped him see what he had with his siblings and offered him my own hand of friendship; which he accepted."

"Impressive," complimented the eldest of the three in the room. "And what about how you both only had one match?"

"Our next match would've been against Gaara's sister, Temari," continued the blonde. "But she forfeited before we could fight."

"I think that she did it for her brother," mused Judy. "It was obvious that she cared for him, and with Naruto becoming his first friend, I'm willing to bet that Temari wanted to respect that and gave Naruto the win. This pushed us to the finals against another Leaf Genin named Shino, who is the heir to the Aburame Clan."

"But, because he wore himself out throughout his first matches, he gave up too. This made us the winners of the Chunin Exam Finals, and helped me earn my promotion to the rank of Chunin," finished Naruto.

Rukia nodded in understanding, smiling at the both of them. "Well done, you two. I'm glad that you both presented to a large audience just what we were capable of when we had a competent partner at our side." Turning her focus to her granddaughter, she said, "You've done our clan proud, Judy. I'm glad that I made the correct choice in having you represent us outside of our personal home."

Judy smiled gratefully, bowing her head to her grandmother. "Thank you very much."

She nodded and turned her attention to the blonde Uzumaki, who looked back at her anxiously. Chuckling softly, she assured him, "You don't need to be so tense, child. I can say right now that it was fortunate that you stumbled upon our old contract. We found a kindred spirit in you, and you found support in us. It a mutually beneficial stroke of luck when you signed that contract and summoned my granddaughter nearly a year ago. While you may have started off on the wrong foot," she noticed him look guilty and Judy pat his arm in reassurance, "you made up for it splendidly. Not only did you bring honor to us by showing our potential, you also honored _me_ by keeping Judy safe from harm. I cannot thank you enough for that."

He became bashful at that, awkwardly laughing as he rubbed the back of his head and blushed. "It was no trouble, Rukia-baa-chan," he replied. "Judy-chan is my partner; but she's also my best friend and someone important to me. I wouldn't let anything happen to her."

Rukia had to fight a smirk at seeing how Judy's furred cheeks were darkening at the young man's sincere response. "Well, I'm more than happy to welcome such a compassionate person like yourself into our family."

He blinked in surprise at that before smiling brightly. "You mean…?"

Nodding once, she reached into the sleeve of her kimono and pulled out a small scroll that held the paw print insignia of the Usagi Clan. "Welcome to the clan, Naruto-kun," she declared, handing him the scroll.

Gingerly, his hands grasped it and he carefully unrolled it open; as if fearing he would accidentally destroy it with the slightest wrong move. There was a single storage seal mark inside, and he unsealed its contents onto his lap. Folded nice and neat was a haori, a sleeved cloak that was worn over ones clothes, with the Usagi insignia resting proudly on its back. He looked back up at Rukia, silently asking for permission; which was given to him with an amused smile.

Standing up, he unfolded the haori and put it on over his clothes, finding the coloration to be black with white diamond markings at the bottom in the back while the paw print rested perfectly between his shoulder blades (1). The colors went well with the clothes he and Judy had picked out before the finals, and the cloak itself felt comfortable and flowing, moving perfectly with him and not interfering with his motion or lessening the range he had.

"I love it," he said finally, bowing gratefully to Rukia. "And thank you. I've always wanted to be a part of something besides my home village. I may have the blood of the Uzumaki, but I still don't know if more are out there or if I'm the last one left." He straightened himself and gave the elder Usagi a warm smile. "Being accepted into your clan is one of the greatest gifts I could ever receive, and I promise that I won't let you down. I'll keep showing the world, with Judy-chan's help, that the Usagi is a clan worth respecting."

Judy and Rukia both smiled at him and his words, and the Clan Head stood up to her feet before moving over to the young man and embracing him. He was surprised at the gesture, but the warmth he felt was something he would never forget.

"I know you won't, Naruto-kun," she said softly. "I have great faith in you and Judy-chan's potential, and I know you both will go on to do great things." Pulling back, she cupped his cheek and smiled softer. "It makes this old bunny happy to welcome such a bright young kit into our family. So, go and face the world with pride, young Usagi."

He grinned widely at her while Judy jumped on his shoulder. She too smiled at Rukia before the both of them left the woman's home and then the Summoning Realm.

* * *

Later that night, after Naruto and Judy had a celebratory dinner, the blonde found his current study time with the Uzumaki Clan journal interrupted by a knock at his door. Marking the page he was on, he went over and opened it to the sight of Kakashi standing patiently outside.

Neither of them said anything for a few moments. Naruto still felt hurt at being brushed aside over a month ago while Kakashi felt guilty about it and didn't know what to say to his ex-student.

Without a word, Naruto stood aside and let the Jonin enter. Once the man was in and he closed the door, the young Chunin asked, "What did you want to talk with me about, Kakashi?"

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, the man answered, "I was hoping to apologize to you for not giving you a chance before. I know that you must be feeling betrayed and angry with me, and I can't think of anything to say to justify what I did." Sighing for a moment, he continued, "The reason I chose to work with Sasuke over you was because he required minimal effort on my part. He had plenty of past training under his belt; training since before he even entered the Academy. This gave him lots of groundwork that had already been covered, and all I had to do was help him train physically while instructing him on his chakra nature."

"And on the flipside, I had practically no prior training and it was too much for you to try and help improve on," cut in Naruto, making the man cringe.

"…Yes, that's what my thought process was. I've never been a teacher, Naruto. I've always been a student, a partner, and a squad leader; but never have I had to instruct anyone, let alone take on a Genin Team. I didn't really know what I was doing when I was meant to teach you, and I fell into my old habits that I had picked up from a late friend of mine. So, when the two of you made it to the Finals, I thought it would be best for me to go with the easier option."

Blue eyes narrowed at him. "So, you brushed me aside because I was _too much_ in terms of a teaching workload. While Sasuke had an easy opponent, I had one that could have, and _almost_ , killed me."

"It was a mistake to brush you off when you had so much potential that I should've helped bring out," admitted Kakashi. "I should've trained the two of you, or at least found someone to help me prepare the both of you instead of leaving you to fend for yourself. And I had no right to stomp on your chances and say that you should've quit. It was an insult to you and what you could accomplish, and I'm sorry for all of it." Taking another breath, the Jonin bowed his head to Naruto in apology as he stated, "Forgive me."

Naruto took a long and deep breath at the man's apology, thinking over everything that had happened over the past month and beyond. "I should tell you to piss off and screw your apology," he mused, tone soft and making Kakashi twitch. "But…I know what it's like to choose between a hard choice and an easy one; and I know what it's like to feel guilty about choosing the easier option." Recalling how he had basically undermined Judy's ability in the past when he left her at his home made him sympathize with his ex-teacher. "The best thing we can do is to move on and try to patch things up over time. I'm still hurt about this, but I'm willing to try and mend the bridges between us, Kakashi."

The man gave Naruto one of his signature eye-smiles at that; even if it wasn't as bright as his past ones. "I can live with that. And hopefully I can start moving things along by teaching you a jutsu that you have the most right to learning."

That got Naruto's interest. "What do you mean?"

Chuckling, Kakashi answered, "It's a jutsu your father used, and the one that I based my Lightning Blade off of."

"My father?" His eyes were wide at that.

Kakashi raised his hands to get him to settle down. "I could get in a lot of trouble for this, Naruto; I need you to understand that right now. Your father was someone important to the Hidden Leaf, and he made a lot of enemies that would love nothing more than to kill you just because you're his son. Because of this, I need you to only use this jutsu when you have nothing else left; a last resort. Do you understand?"

He locked his eyes with the only visible one that Kakashi showed to the world. "…This is some serious shit, isn't it?" The man nodded once. "Alright then, I'll only use it when nothing else works. So what is it, anyway?"

Kakashi answered by holding his right palm upward, where chakra began to form and glow before it began moving in dangerous spirals that were contained in a slightly unstable sphere. Faster and faster the chakra spun, making the jutsu give off a powerful whirling and grinding sound as the chakra lit up Naruto's apartment room.

"It's called…the Rasengan."

* * *

 **1~ Think of the haori as the one Kisuke Urahara wears in** _ **Bleach**_

 **And there's chapter five four you guys, ready and posted on Thanksgiving Day (which I believe is mainly celebrated here in the United States). I hope you all enjoyed it and look forward to the next chapter.**

 **To those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you all have an enjoyable and safe holiday and that you acknowledge the things that you are most thankful for.**

 **In my case, I'm thankful for my family, my job, my friends, and you all; my readers who have shown so much support for me over the years. It means a lot to me that you enjoy the work I put out there for you, and I hope to make each and every chapter or story as enjoyable as the last.**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	6. Chapter 6: The Past and the Future

**It's a bird! It's a plane! No, wait it's-!**

 _ ***record scratch***_

 **Wait… Wrong story** **…** _ ***awkward sweatdrop***_

 **Here comes the REAL update!**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **pain17ification**_ **does not own** _ **Naruto**_ **,** _ **Zootopia**_ **,** _ **Bleach**_ **, or** _ **RWBY**_

* * *

 _Usagi no Naruto_

 _Chapter Six: The Past and the Future_

* * *

Early morning training with Guy had become instinctual to Naruto and Judy, considering how they had done so for most of the last month. Both had their weighted gear on, as well as _Resistance Seals_ that Naruto had made before the Finals.

Currently, Naruto was in a full sprint with his face showing slight strain from the effort he was putting into maintaining his speed. Judy was keeping pace with him by taking large leaps with her powerful hind legs. While they were going all out with the weight handicapping them, Guy was easily outpacing them with his own weights…and on his hands.

"C'mon you two! I want to see your youth EXPLODE!" the Jonin urged.

The man's words made both members of the Usagi Clan grit their teeth as they forced their bodies to work harder. While Naruto could've opened the _Gate of Opening_ , he didn't want to become reliant on it. The Celestial Gates were meant to be used either as a last resort or in the defense of those you loved.

That was the rule Guy had imposed on him and made him promise to adhere to when he started teaching the blonde about them. Using them in the Finals was the only exception; and even then, it was nearly his last resort.

A couple of hours later, Guy was off to visit Lee while Naruto and Judy went home for a quick breakfast before meeting Hana for training. The two were short of breath, but they were happy that Guy was still physically pushing them so far. It would get easier as they continued, and the man would simply up the ante when it showed.

"How's the _Rasengan_ coming along?" Judy asked from her perch on Naruto's shoulder. It was her spot now, and she was even tempted to put her name on it.

"Kakashi told me the three steps and how to do them, but I'm still stuck on the first step," the Uzumaki answered, taking a drink from his water canteen before offering his partner a drink. "Rotation is step one, but I just can't pop that stupid balloon."

Judy hummed thoughtfully at that. "Show me what you've been doing."

Without question, Naruto pulled out a scroll and unsealed a balloon filled with water. Holding it in his right palm, he had his chakra take hold of the internal liquid and start spinning, stretching the balloon and having it go from a spherical shape to an oblong one that shifted with the moving water.

"When Kakashi showed me this step, the balloon looked like it was poking outward in every direction, and not just how mine is," explained Naruto. "I'm trying to figure out how to make my chakra move like his did."

"…Gather chakra in your left hand for a second," suggested Judy as Naruto started walking up the steps leading to his apartment.

Raising a brow, Naruto complied and let his free hand gain a blue glow. "Now what?"

"Do the same thing you're doing with your right hand," the Usagi continued. When she saw his left hand's chakra begin rotating, she leapt off his shoulder and faced him. "Now, while having the water move with your right hand, make your left do this."

She demonstrated by having her right hand's palm upward while her left hand, with the fingers slightly curled, began to swipe at the air above it in different spots. Curious, Naruto did as she instructed and was amazed at how the balloon began to bulge and stretch in multiple spots; just like Kakashi's did during his demonstration.

After a few seconds, the balloon suddenly burst, and the two were hit by the expulsion of the water inside. They didn't care about that, instead being happy that Naruto had completed the first step; and in just a week since Kakashi first showed him the jutsu.

"Awesome! Step one finished!" the Uzumaki cheered. "Hey, how'd you know to do that, anyway?"

"You'd be amazed what you can learn by watching your natural predators," Judy answered as the two entered the apartment. "Cats like to swipe at balls of yarn, and when they hit it in different directions, the yarn will occasionally poke outward. I guessed that something similar would happen to the balloon if you applied the same concept; but you'd obviously need to use your chakra as a catalyst."

"Huh… Maybe I should pay more attention to how other people do things," mused the blonde.

"It wouldn't hurt. It's never a bad thing to look at things from other perspectives."

"Right."

After a quick breakfast consisting of eggs and toast for Naruto and some berries for Judy, the two got dressed in their uniforms and headed for the Inuzuka Compound.

* * *

"Alright, show me what you've got for Lightning Style training," Hana instructed as she stood across her young student in her family's training field.

Nodding, Naruto held out a shuriken and concentrated. The first step for gaining control of Lightning Style was to have your chakra conduct on a piece of metal, like an electrical current. The goal was to get charged enough to become magnetized, and future steps involved using less magnetic metals.

Frowning at the shuriken in his fingers, the Uzumaki put all his focus on changing the nature of his chakra from its natural state to a more static one. He also had to be careful not to accidentally activate his bloodline; which was oddly easier to do in comparison when, from what he was told, it was usually the other way around.

Bloodlines involving elements demanded a deep knowledge of the two elemental affinities that make up their combination. An example being the fabled Storm Style from the Hidden Cloud, which has been recorded to consist of Water and Lightning affinities.

However, like how Haku could do during the Land of Waves mission, Naruto was able to use his elemental bloodline without prior knowledge of the two affinities it was made of. Sure, Haku had some basic knowledge of Water Style thanks to Zabuza; but definitely not enough for the "natural" method of Ice Style.

Absently in his mind, he chuckled at how he and the young woman were more alike than he initially realized. Unable to stop himself, he found his mind drifting to past memories involving her; as well as the regret and helplessness he experienced upon her death at the hands of Kakashi.

The way she threw herself into the _Lightning Blade_ without any hesitation…

The way the hand encased in lightning easily pierced through her…

The way sparks danced across her dying form…

The determination in her eyes at saving Zabuza…

He was so out of focus that he never realized that the shuriken in his hands had become supercharged with electricity; enough to have sparks leap from the metal and strike the ground beneath him. It wasn't until a stray spark hit his other hand that he was brought back into focus, showing surprise at his success.

"How did-?"

"Nice work," Hana praised, making him look to her. "A bit much on the chakra used, but great job."

"But I… I wasn't focusing on the shuriken," he admitted, reeling back his chakra and dropping the small weapon. "I was…thinking of something else."

The way his tone became so distant, and how his gaze lost focus, concerned the Special Jonin. Judy, having known Naruto for so long, had an idea of what he had been thinking about.

"If you weren't focused on it, then what _were_ you focusing on?"

Blinking back into focus, the young blonde looked his superior in the eye, surprising her with how downtrodden he looked.

"My first mission outside the village…" he answered before he began giving her all the details. Details on what he experienced, on Tazuna and his family, on Zabuza and Gatou, and finally on Haku.

* * *

Watching Naruto leave with Judy for the day, Hana couldn't fight the frown that was on her face. the details of the C-Rank turned A-Rank Mission left a sour taste in her mouth. Not to mention that it further supported what the Hokage had said about Kakashi not having enough experience as a teacher.

Really, who took fresh Genin on a C-Rank Mission without giving them the basics on chakra control? And who the hell decided to let the _Genin_ decide on its continuation without _any_ notion of backup?

Taking a couple of breaths to calm herself, Hana turned around and headed inside with the Haimaru triplets. The first thing she noted was that dinner was almost ready based on the smell; and it smelled delicious.

"Stew?" Hana asked her mother, entering the kitchen.

"Of course," Tsume answered in amusement. "You know that's my best dish."

Hana shared a laugh with her mother at that. Sitting down, she thought about what to ask the older woman before she had a notion. "Hey, mom?"

"What's up, dear?"

"…Can you tell me more about dad?" she asked hesitantly, easily noting how her mother suddenly tensed.

The matriarch of the Inuzuka stood ramrod straight for a few seconds before she slowly resumed her cooking. "What brought this on?"

"I don't know…" admitted the younger woman. "I guess…Naruto got me thinking about him."

Blinking curiously, Tsume put the stove on a lower heat before giving Hana her full attention. "How so?"

"Earlier, we were working on his Lightning Style training; just like we've been for most of the week." Tsume nodded for her to continue. "He was successful today, but he said that he wasn't even thinking about the training. He was thinking about someone he met on his first C-Rank and how it was a Lightning Jutsu that killed her."

Tsume frowned sadly at that, having gained a major soft spot for the Uzumaki boy. "How'd he look when he was talking about her?"

"Sad," Hana answered. "But…there was some happiness there too. That girl – Haku, he said she was called – left a big impression on him. It was actually her philosophy that Naruto inherited; the one about using everything he had to protect his loved ones."

"And…hearing about how he lost someone so influential to him made you think about your father, didn't it?" Tsume deduced, earning a nod. "I see…"

She turned to the kitchen window, staring off to the late afternoon sun. Hana watched her mother, saying nothing and letting the woman think.

"…Sajin was a wonderful mate, Hana," Tsume began. "He was strong, loyal, and compassionate; traits you've inherited from him." Her eyes were closed as she smiled, ignoring the stray tear that fell. "He was an Ōkami who had the heart of an Alpha; one that would've brought out clan to great prestige if not for the older members so set in past traditions."

Hana fought her own tears at hearing about her father. "Was… Was he there?"

"For your birth?" Tsume guessed, earning a nod. "I want to say that he was, but…"

The rest was left open, and Hana knew what had happened. A few more tears fell at the thought of her father hunted down like a wild animal.

Tsume saw her daughter's state and immediately embraced her. "I know how you're feeling, Hana. I miss him every day, and it kills me inside knowing that I can't do anything in retaliation for his death. If I did, I'd be placing you and Kiba in danger; and I could never bring myself to do that."

Clutching her mother, Hana wept for the father she never knew; her wolf heart howling for the loss of its pack member.

* * *

"Are you gonna be okay?" Judy asked Naruto upon their return to his apartment.

"Yeah… It's just…thinking about Haku reminded me how short our lives really can be," he answered, sounding subdued. "It's…terrifying, to be honest."

"I know," the Usagi agreed, jumping onto the couch to sit next to him. "But, isn't that what makes life so important; to cherish the time you have?"

"I guess…"

"This isn't like you, Naruto. I've never seen anything weigh you down so much."

"Yeah," he agreed with a weak chuckle. "Guess I'm not as fearless as I thought."

"…If we live without fear, Naruto, then we're not _truly_ living," Judy declared, earning his attention. "Fear is what pushes people past their limits. It makes someone go from saying _I can't_ to saying _I must_. It's the fear of the unknown that helps bring people together through the hard times, and it's the fear of loss that helps them stay together through the happier times."

Naruto hung on her every word, enraptured by the emotion she put behind her words.

"…It was the fear of losing you that made me upset whenever you left me behind," she continued, admitting her past feelings. "And that same fear nearly tore me apart when you were almost crushed by Gaara during the Finals."

"Judy…"

"No, don't interrupt me," she cut him off, her gaze stern. "I need to say this."

His eyes were wide at her expression, and he slowly nodded while staying quiet.

"Naruto, you're my partner, and you're my best friend. Losing you would break me; more than it would to lose my grandmother. We've been through some trials together, pushing past them and getting stronger along the way. I don't want what happened in the past to come back and ruin what we have. I need you to trust me to watch your back, just I do the same for you."

"I do trust you," he assured her.

"I know, but before the Finals, you didn't; at least not fully. If we're going to keep moving forward, we need to let go of that past and focus on the future."

Her violet orbs stared deep into his cerulean, conveying her determination and anxiety on the matter; two emotions that he saw clearly and nodded in response to. Raising a hand, he reached forward to grasp one of hers while his free one rested over his heart.

"Judy," he began, his tone strong, "I promise you that I won't ever doubt your abilities again. You're strong, you're smart, and you're my partner. I'd have nobody else but you stand with me at the end."

The two shared a warm smile, and hidden beneath her furred cheeks, red seeped in at his actions; finding them somewhat romantic. At the same time, the two declared, " _To the edge and back_ …"

* * *

"Hey, did you hear?" a random drunk asked his drinking buddy. The two were seated at the bar of one of the many taverns in Tanzaku Town.

"Hear what?"

"Some brat from the Leaf won the entire Chunin Exams by winning just one match against a Sand brat."

"Pfft, who cares about shit like that? Just some uppity punks who think they're on top of the world," the second man scoffed, downing his current drink and calling for another.

"Nah, get this; the kid caused these explosions-"

"With what; Bomb Tags?"

Annoyed at being cut off, the first drunk shook his head. "No, you impatient ass. The brat caused them with nothing but a punch."

Unknown to them, a woman in the corner closest to them paused in her drink and slowly lowered the glass down.

"He…punched out an explosion?" the second man asked, sounding rightfully skeptical.

"That's what my friend told me. Damn, I wish I could've seen it; but I was off on a job."

"Your friend tell ya who the explosive brat was?"

"Some kid with spiky gold hair, or some shit like that."

The woman's left hand trembled slightly.

"I forget the name, but it ended with _-to_ ; I know that much."

"Huh… Kids these days are getting weirder with their ninja bullshit, I tell ya," the second man groused, never having been much of a fan of the ninja system.

"What's odd though was that kid's explosive punch – according to my friend – was said to have originated in the Stone Village."

"Those rock heads? The hell is something they're known for doing at the village they hate the most?"

The woman had heard enough and set enough money down for her drink before grabbing her traveling cloak and heading out the door. Beneath the shadows of their hood, lilac eyes narrowed as she made her way out of town; uncaring about the approaching dark of night. If anyone had been observant enough, they'd have noticed how her right arm was missing from the elbow down; made visible by her cloak shifting in the evening breeze.

 _'It shouldn't be possible,'_ she thought to herself. _'He was just a child when I lost him… He would be an adult at this point, and I was never able to find him. So, how could my bloodline be in the Leaf…?'_

One way or another, the cloaked traveler was going to get answers; no matter how many craters she had to make or buildings she had to blast apart. (1)

* * *

 **1~ I dare ANYONE to guess who this woman is!**

 **And there's the update. It's short, but it's the best I can do for the time being.**

 **Many people don't really seem to understand how the whole** _ **length system**_ **for updates work, and I hope not to offend anyone with what I'm saying.**

 **An update's length is determined by the message or point that an author wants to get out there. Some chapters can be extremely long, because the point of the chapter demands such length. Others, like this one, don't require so much length because the message/point was made clear enough.**

 **So, please try not to be upset that this chapter was** _ **too short**_ **. It's fine in my eyes. Besides, my schedule gets in the way of my writing quite a bit. So, try to understand where I'm coming from, okay?**

 **Until next time!**

 _ **~pain17ification~**_


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